Fix What Has Been Broken
by Used.To.Be.Something.279
Summary: Pony is was grateful for everything Darry tries to do, but of course, ever since the tragedy, no one has been the same. And then, one night he gets a wish. Even if it does seem dumb or unrealistic, he can't help but dream ... {DISCONTINUED: look at last chapter for notes}
1. Chapter 1

**Possible short story (but I might add more chapters if you guys want) that I thought of randomly, because let's be honest, we all kinda wish that no one had died. I DO NOT ONE THE OUTSIDERS! Oh, and I had thought of writing this before, but I didn't really know what to write, but anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ten days.

That's how long Ponyboy had lasted without waking up screaming.

He had really been trying his best, and he was somewhat proud of himself. The other nights he had been awoken by his own whimpers, and sometimes he had fallen out of bed. Other times, he had been shaken awake by Darry. But not by Sodapop anymore. Soda would give him unwanted looks and turn his back. It didn't really hurt him anymore.

Pony was really close to moving back into his old room. At least if he moved back there, he wouldn't have to dread waking up like he always did.

It had happened so rarely. Of course, the doctors said that it was normal for him to get more nightmares. After all, he had been there when both of his friends had died.

They happened so rarely; once in a blue moon.

But that day, something was off. He could feel it in his bones. He could just _feel_ it, he could _sense_ it. Something was off. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling really, because a lot had been off since they had died. But it was something different.

It was a Monday. And everyone hated Mondays. Pony hated them so much, because Mondays were when the Socs would regain their strength from over the weekend and bother him.

He didn't have Steve or Two-Bit to help him anymore. He didn' have Johnny either, so now Pony hated Mondays with all his being.

So, it was a Monday. The early mornings of another boring and agonizing day. It was around 5 a.m, when he yelped that night. And when he did, he regretted it immediately.

He hadn't meant to wake anyone up, but he really couldn't help it. The nightmares were getting worse. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Johnny, all burned up -skin scorched and peeling- weak, as the life was sucked right out of him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Dally, desperate and scared as he crumpled under the street light with holes spewing blood out of his chest.

Even as he saw Sodapop jump out of bed, and give him an angry glare, it didn't really hurt. Not as much as it would've felt before anyone would have died. Not as much as it hurt when they did die.

It had left a gaping hole in him. In _everyone._

So it really didn't hurt.

Or so he forced himself to believe.

Darry comforted him more than Sodapop now. Darry understood at least. More than Soda seemed to care now a days. But recently, these days, no one seemed to care.

Except Darry maybe. But that was because he had to take care of two brothers and he had to work to be able to keep them.

Two-Bit didn't care. He drowned himself in his liquor to the point where he wasn't him anymore. To the point where he couldn't even remember his name. His nickname or real one. He was the angry type of drunk, that threw bottles and yelled and he was the type you didn't want to be around. And sometimes, it reminded Pony of Johnny's dad. Pony kept away from him now.

Steve, you could say had gotten meaner. The fights with his father were taking the toll on him, but when Johnny and Dally had died, he got angry, like Dally. Except, at least Dally showed some compassion and didn't snap at everything. Dally had only snapped at everything and everyone when he got really angry. But Steve was always angry now. There wasn't a time where you didn't see the anger that blazed in his eyes. Ponyboy stayed away from him.

Oh and Soda. Poor Soda. He didn't talk much these days. The happiness and joy that once used to emit from his eyes, were now gone. Johnny, Dally, and Sandy had taken all of him when they left.

So now, he was just another person that had no purpose. That's what Pony thought Soda thought of himself now anyways.

Darry was Darry. Pony had understood that if they hadn't fought in the first place, if he had followed Darry's rules not to stay out late, if he hadn't fallen asleep; Johnny and Dally wouldn't be dead.

Darry tried to make Pony see that it wasn't his fault, but deep down, deep within his heart, Pony knew that it was his fault. And it hurt more than anyone could imagine.

Darry, you could say had gotten less strict. They had bonded, that's for sure.

Pony understood that what Darry had all done before, was because he had loved him. Pony blamed himself for being so dense not to have realized it sooner.

Oh, if only he had realized it sooner . . .

So even as Pony slowly got up, reassuring Darry that everything was alright and there was no need to worry, he was thankful.

Thankful that he and Darry had gotten close, because now Darry was the only one he had left. He was the only sane one now.

And boy, it was painful.

Painful seeing Two-Bit getting thrown into jail for disrupting the public as he was dragged, hissing and spitting and cursing -if they hadn't died, he probably would've slung his arm over the police officer and had a nice and sarcastic conversation with him. He would've even _smiled_.

It was painful seeing Steve snap at everything. From the nice light of the sky as it shone down, to a nice girl walking by him. The old Steve would've probably cursed the sun for giving him a sunburn in a funny way, and he probably would've smirked at the girl and asked for her number, even if he was still with Evie. But now, just like Pony did. Evie kept away.

Oh and it was even more painful with Soda. Pony's own brother. It was painful to see . . . even see him, as he walked around, with his head hung low. Even when Sandy had left, he hadn't been this depressed. And it was strange. Truly strange, that his happy go lucky brother that once used to laugh at a butterfly passing by, now looked at the days ahead like he wasn't happy that he was also alive.

It hurt so bad, that Pony wished he forgot everything.

 **X X X**

"Hey Pony can you ask Soda if he wants any chicken?" Darry asked as he served himself a plate. "I just wanted to know before I eat everything."

Darry had gotten home late. Again.

Soda had finished up work and holed himself up in his room. Again.

And Pony had tried to finish his homework, yet failed to do so, because his mind was wandering off. Again.

Pony nodded glumly. He didn't want to see his brother. He knew that he wouldn't even respond, but it didn't hurt to try. And what would happen, if he didn't listen to his brother? Would something else happen? There was no way in hell that Pony was taking any chances. No siree.

"Hey Soda," Pony called out sadly from the door. "Darry wanted to know if you wanted to eat. He made chicken. Again."

Even before he made his way up the creaky stairs, Pony knew that answer.

He was met by silence. Yet again.

It made him angry to be honest

"Well if you're hungry, the food is in the fridge." Pony sighed and shut the door.

Ponyboy just lingered upstairs, occasionally going back from 'his' room to Soda's room. That was until he got bored. He walked down the stairs as slowly as he could, but even as he reached the kitchen, he found that Darry was still there.

Darry was reading a newspaper.

And when Pony walked in, he got up and opened the cupboard.

"Don't forget to take your pills." Darry said and handed him the pill bottle. "Did you forget to take them this last night?"

"Yeah," Pony lied. "I forgot. That's why I woke up screaming."

Darry nodded. "I should have figured." He lay a hand on his shoulder. "But it's okay. Don't sweat about it. Everyone forgets things."

Pony only nodded.

Pony didn't want to tell Darry that the pills weren't helping anymore. If he didn tell him, then Darry would go out of his way and buy more, expensive ones. Pony didn't want Darry wasting his money on him. So he lied.

"I think I'll take two for tonight okay? Just to make sure." Pony said.

"Just don't take more than two okay? You know what happened last time." Darry replied sternly.

Of course, who could forget last time? The last time Darry hadn't supervised Pony's intake of pills, he had nearly killed himself.

Pony hadn't wanted to die of course. It was just that the pills weren't working, and the nightmares kept coming back.

But now he always forced himself awake before he screamed. Today, however had been unexpected.

"I'll start sleeping in my own room from today on okay Darry?"

Darry gave him this look. Pony knew Darry was worried about him, but he didn't say anything. "Okay. Okay, just . .. maybe Soda will be against it."

"No, he probably won't mind. After all," Ponyboy paused. "It's already time. I'm getting older."

Darry nodded slowly. "Okay."

That night, Soda didn't even acknowledge Pony as he told him the news and removed his sketchbook. Pony convinced himself that he was sleeping. Yeah, that's what it's gotta be. He thought. He didn't hear me.

Pony knew better, but he ignored that sickening feeling that began to creep up his throat again.

So as Pony lay uncomfortably on his old bed, he looked up at the ceiling.

Oh boy, what a life.

But it was a life all of them had to get used to.

He wasn't so sure, he wanted that.

* * *

 **Okay, I might update this regularly or stop for a very long time. This is something I would like to do in my free time . . .**


	2. Chapter 2

**I had no idea where this chapter was going until I remembered my dream.**

* * *

It was a Wednesday when he lost track of time. It didn't happen regularly, but there were times where he just blanked out, well not exactly blanked out. More like times where he just did things without realizing he did them. Times where he just wandered aimlessly and forgot about what he had done. Yeah, that's it.

He had been doing his homework, trying to do his homework. But then, he found himself outside in the rain, drenched and shivering, with no idea how he had gotten there. He hadn't even known it was going to rain.

Of course he was upset with himself, because the pills were supposed to be helping with that problem too. He didn't want Darry and Soda working more hours to be able to pay off new medication. They already were out of the house almost all day.

When Darry asked, he lied. Right to his face. And he didn't feel a little bit sorry about it. After all, he had been lying to himself too.

Darry was sitting in his recliner, a newspaper beside him. Sodapop was nowhere in sight, like always. He didn't even know why he bothered anymore.

As soon as Pony cracked open the door, Darry was standing up. Worry and anger etched all over his face.

"Pony, where've you been? Curfew was hours ago." Darry said sternly, crossing his arms. "Are you okay?" He looked at Pony closely. "Did you walk out like that in the rain?"

 _Hours?_

Pony shook himself out of his daze and he only smiled. He slipped off his shirt. "Never been better," he said too enthusiastically. He recoiled at his voice, and started over. "I just went out to run and the rain caught me. I thought it was going to go away but I guessed time passes when you have fun dancing in the rain."

 _Don't ask me what I mean, don't ask me what I mean . . ._

"Did you finish your homework before you went out?"

 _Thank god._

"Yeah . . . I think so . . . " He looked around. Where had he been doing homework again?

Darry raised an eyebrow. "And dancing in the rain? Are you sure you're okay?" He laughed out a little forcefully. "I didn't know you were getting all poetic on me."

"That was an expression. I meant just like smelling the rain. Getting soaked. Enjoying the moment." He cleared up and ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to take a break."

Darry sighed and sat down. "Okay. Okay." He seemed out of breath. "But next time tell me when you're going out okay? I was real worried. I can't really ask anyone to go with you . . . " His voice trailed off.

 _I wonder how Two-Bit is doing . . . and Steve . . ._

Pony smiled again, but this time, less enthusiastically. "Thanks Darry. Sorry." He picked up his shirt and looked into the kitchen. "Oh and do you know if Soda's home?"

Darry paused a second, before he shook his head. "I'm not sure little buddy. But we can trust him to come back when he wants to right? I just got here too."

Pony nodded. "Okay, I'll get ready to go to bed I guess."

Ponyboy just wanted to take a quick shower and go to sleep. He was too tired to even care that he hadn't eaten. Had I eaten? Darry didn't seem to notice either, so he probably wouldn't be forced to eat.

Ponyboy slowly walked up the stairs to find that Soda's door was shut and there was a small light coming from beneath it. He was making his way to his own room when Darry called out.

"Did you take your pills yet?"

Pony spun around and headed back downstairs.

Of course he hadn't.

 _I wonder if Sodapop is sleeping . . ._

 **-O-o-O-o-O-**

The pain was more unbearable that Thursday. Thank god there was only one more day till Friday. Otherwise he would have to skip, and the last time he had, it hadn't ended well. Darry had allowed him to slide, accompanied by a few threats.

Maybe it was because he hadn't slept so well the few past days. But either way, being thrown against the lockers was always painful.

Ponyboy groaned and shut his eyes, trying to ignore the jabbing sensation that stung his back. Trying to ignore the fact that the teachers had completely disappeared once again when he was in trouble. Again. He should have really tried to immediately go outside after classes instead of lingering.

"Maybe that'll teach you not to kill one of our kind greaser." One of his attackers spat. He felt the spit land square on his forehead. _Ew_.

 _It happened so long ago . . . I don't know why they still bother . . ._

Another kick to the stomach and that was it. They left.

If Pony had slept better and had enough strength he would've fought back, but he couldn't. After all, the bruises in his knuckles still hadn't faded from last time.

Ponyboy looked around for his stuff. They had disappeared again, along with his backpack. He wouldn't be mentioning it to Darry . . .

He turned around and grabbed a lock that dangled from his locker. It didn't matter if it was flipped. At least it helped him to get up.

He brushed himself off and rubbed his back. He could relax at home.

Xxxxx

Ponyboy got back home pretty quickly. Running helped him calm down, but so did smoking, but so did a lot of other things recently.

But smoking had been a long time ago.

He didn't smoke much anymore, actually he didn't smoke. He was afraid of what would happen if his house caught fire. He didn't want to repeat the events of what had happened in Windrixville. He could still see Johnny's face . . .

Pony shook his head slowly. _Stop. Don't remember . . ._

Money was a problem too. Cancer sticks cost too much when he actually thought about it.

He would occasionally bite his nails or chew gum or do something like tapping his feet to ease the nerves. It would work at times, but a lot of those times, he would go through packs of gum. He really didn't like gum, but it kept him busy. It kept his mind off of what was bothering him. And he really had to stop with the nail chewing habit too.

Ponyboy took off his shoes and walked to his room, plopping another piece of gum in his mouth.

School was ending soon too. Everyday was getting closer and closer to June. And it was getting closer and closer to another month's anniversary of Johnny and Dally's death.

Pony closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of chewing gum. _Don't remember. Stop thinking. Stop doing this to yourself._ He chewed louder.

He sighed. The house was silent.

 _I wonder if Soda is home already . . ._

"Hey Sodapop!"

No answer. So either he was home and not answering or he wasn't home. You could never be too sure.

Pony glanced at Soda's shut door. He walked right past it and shut his own door and tossed his clothes into the laundry. He put on more comfortable clothes.

"Okay Ponyboy, you can do this." He got down onto the floor and got into pushup position. "Last time you did fifty. Today you can do fiftyfive. Going up by five's each time is the way . . . "

It wasn't long until he was wheezing. He only made it to twenty before he grew completely exhausted.

Darry had once mentioned that by doing pushups, it helped gain muscle strength. It sure did help him when Socs would want to get into fights.

He crawled into bed, not caring that he was sweaty.

He would need to take some Advil for his back.

 **-O-o-O-o-O-**

Pony was staring at the empty seat across from him.

"Did Soda already eat?"

Darry turned around. He was washing dishes at the sink. "Yeah, we didn't want to wake you up. You've been looking tired these past few days."

"Okay." He said and took a small spoonful of soup.

Man, the one day where Soda had actually eaten dinner at home, he'd fallen asleep. Pony pinched himself. _You didn't even finish your pushups._

He took another spoonful. "Hey Darry?"

"Yeah?"

"How old were you when you started to shave?" Pony asked and shoved another mouthful in his mouth.

"I was really young. Don't really remember. Around . . . 14 maybe?"

"Do you think I'll be shaving soon?"

Darry turned off the water. "Maybe. I mean you've already grown a bit more. Almost as tall as Soda now." He laughed. "I see that you even got more muscles. Or is it just me?"

Pony blushed and put down his spoon. "What?"

"I hope you've been taking my advice? Pushups? Pullups? Or something else?"

Pony smiled to hide his blush. _Darry noticed_. "Uh, pushups."

Darry walked up to him and clapped him on the back. "Good for you. You're growing so quickly. I remember when I was younger-"

Pony stood up and stepped back. "Please don't tell me you're going to give me The Talk."

Darry laughed again. "Don't worry. That probably won't happen for a while. You still have time."

Pony exhaled. "Thank god."

That night Ponyboy looked at himself in the mirror. He flexed a bit and realized that he had in fact had more muscles and they were clearly noticeable. And his hair was longer. And the fact that he had indeed grown about an inch or two. How had he not noticed all of this? Only last year he had been looking everyday for these signs.

His throat seized up.

Well of course it had been last year. He didn't have anything else to worry about.

He closed the door to the bathroom and climbed the steps quietly.

You could say that it was strange. Usually when he dreamt, he dreamt of the fire or of Johnny or Dally. And sometimes he dreamed about how everyone in the gang had changed. But not Darry. Well he had. No, it was Ponyboy who had changed when he thought about it.

Ponyboy listened to Darry more and understood that everything he had done was for was his family.

He covered his head with his blanket and as soon as he took a smooth deep breath he was asleep.

xxx

Ponyboy stood in front of a tree. And that itself was was weird, because the tree he was seeing was huge. He had never seen a tree so big, so old looking. Not to mention it was white. But that didn't really fascinate him.

There was a little boy there. He was sitting on one of it's many branches.

Pony walked right up to the boy.

"What's your name?" He asked.

The little boy smiled, but he didn't answer. Well, at least not with his mouth. His lips didn't move.

 _My name is Logan._

It didn't seem strange to Pony that he could hear the boy in his mind. He acted like it was nothing.

"Logan, where am I? What am I doing here?"

Logan's smile faded. He hopped down from the tree.

He looked smaller than Pony had thought.

 _My physical stature is small. But that doesn't make me naive._

"Sorry," Pony smiled sheepishly.

Logan didn't acknowledge his apology. Instead, he walked right up to Pony and grabbed his hand.

 _Follow me._

It was peaceful and quiet and serene. There was this soft wind blowing and the sun's rays made him feel good. There were also a lot of trees, but none of them looked like the old one.

Pony was walking. He hadn't asked any questions and even though he didn't' know where he was going, he kept holding Logan's hand.  
Suddenly Logan stopped.

 _What would you do, if I gave you one wish?_

"What?" Pony asked.

 _What would you do, if I gave you a wish?_

Pony stopped and let go of Logan's hand gently."What would I do, if I actually had a wish?"

Logan nodded. _Yes. Now what would you choose? Riches? Wealth? Wisdom? Some sort of power? I would wish for a thousand wishes, but you can't do that. It's not allowed._

"Oh, okay . . . "

Pony closed his eyes. Hmmm . . . what did he really want? He envisioned the car he had always wanted; the one the Socs always drove. Then imagined himself graduating college. Maybe a dog would do. Or maybe a new pair of shoes, yeah he need them.

 _You know you can make any wish right? You can wish for anything._

Pony nodded and opened his eyes. "I know. It's just that I'm trying to be realistic here, because this is a dream. Maybe I can work hard enough and get myself a car. No, new shoes are a closer goal."

Logan grabbed into Pony's pant leg.

 _No. You're not understanding me. You can wish for anything. Like in movies._

Pony smiled. "Thank you, for encouraging me. But this is just a dream. I can't really wish to be a millionaire and get it. I can't wish for dinosaurs to suddenly appear. I can't wish for my dead friends to come back to life."

The little boy smiled sweetly.

 _But you can._

Pony gasped. "You can make dinosaurs come back to life?"

Logan smiled.

 _Yeah I can do that. But I can also brings back your friends._

Pony's eyes narrowed and he kindly let go of the little boy's hand. He couldn't help but feel an empty hole in his chest.

"No, I can't. This is just a dream. It's stupid. Can I wake up now?"

He was starting to get irritated and he wanted to leave.

 _You can wish for that._ The little boy insisted. _You can!_

Pony took a step back. "No I can't, now leave me alone."

The little boy followed him. _Would you like that to be your wish? For them to be alive?_

Pony turned around, his back facing the Logan.

"I can't believe you're talking like this. They're dead. You can't bring them back! I want to wake up now."

Logan reached into his shorts and pulled out a small silver stone.

 _This is for you. Keep it safe and I'll be waiting on your wish okay? I see you tomorrow. Bye_

 _xxx_

Just like that, once Logan had said bye, Ponyboy had woken up, the light shining right in his face and something in his hand.

He swallowed, remembering his dream. Real panic was starting to set it.

No, it was just a dream. It can't be . . .

If he found that thing is his palm, he would freak out. If he opened his palm and there was something in it, he would go crazy. It couldn't happen, it didn't happen, it couldn't happen . . .

He slowly and steadily when he opened his palm. And there lay the exact same silver rock Logan had given him.

Pony closed his eyes, breathed in as steadily as he could, and threw up.

* * *

 **Ehhhhhh, I didn't know how to end it . . . . but anyways thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I was watching** _ **Hacksaw Ridge**_ **and boy, oh boy, I really hate war stories. Even if the ending is happy. Even if the story is really good. They hurt my heart and soul, and it reminds me of a story I read that Soda died in the Vietnam War. Is it true? I heard the S.E Hinton said Soda did die *wheezes* I hope it isn't true. *wheezes again***

* * *

He stayed home from school that Friday of course.

Darry had forced him too, but Ponyboy didn't really complain or mind. He wanted to stay home. He didn't want to put up with the Socs that day. He was too tired and distracted.

But it was more of the distraction that was nagging at him. _That_ and his dream.

When he had thrown up loudly in his room, Darry had rushed in asking if he was okay. Pony had of course launched that rock outside his window in such a panic, and Darry thought something was really wrong with him.

Soda didn't ask any questions when he saw that Pony was still in the kitchen, when he headed out to work. He only quickly glanced at him and Pony assumed that Soda had heard his 'show' in the morning. He didn't really mind though, because he had gotten used to the fact that Soda probably didn't really care about him anymore. He probably didn't care about anything anymore.

That part, he believed.

Pony was lazing around on the couch, watching some tv when he fell asleep. He'd been real bored and he felt like he hadn't slept at all.

He'd been watching an episode of Mickey Mouse and wondered if Two-Bit or Soda still watched. He hadn't been paying much attention either. Thinking of his friends and brothers as they once used to be, hurt him. He felt the pain in his bones. The way it left a gaping whole in him, was too much to bear. He opened a pack of gum and shoved three stick on his mouth.

If he knew that he was going to fall asleep, and what he was going to dream about, he would've stayed awake.

...

Pony found himself sitting down underneath a tree. He was leaning against it, looking at the white branches. _Oh, no. I'm here again._

This time he didn't feel the peace. He felt anxiety bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Right in front of him was Logan, he was smiling, and the anxiety crept up to his heart.

 _Hello Ponyboy._

Pony sat up quickly and scooted away. "What am I doing here? How do you know my name?"

Logan stood up, once again ignoring his questions.

 _I told you to hold on to the stone. But instead you threw it out as if it were nothing. Don't you want to make a wish?_

Pony stood up, and stumbled away. "Wishes never come true. Leave me alone."

 _Just make a wish. You can wish for anything._

"Can you just leave me alone? This is stupid. Wished don't come true because it's fake. Santa Clause is also fake."

The little boy appeared to be laughing.

 _Did you forget already? I told you that just because my physical body appears to that of a young boy, it doesn't mean that I am one. I'm older than you actually._

Pony narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well the, what's .. . . 45 times 30."

Logan smiled and without missing a beat he said, _1350_

"How do I know that you aren't lying?"

 _Ask me something else._

"What's the capital of the United States?"

 _Easy. Washington D.C._

"What does DC stand for?"

 _Easy again. District of Columbia._

"Hmm. Then why are you so small? Why don't you choose like an adult body. You can't go anywhere alone looking like that."

 _We're not here to talk about me or to test my intelligence. Right now, this is all for you._

Pony snorted."Can I wake up now?"

Logan ignored him.

 _I know you miss your friends._

Pony froze, he could feel the tears already. "You know about my friends?"

 _Yeah. Johnny and Dally right? They're nice._

He scowled dangerously. "How would you know huh? You've never met them. You're not real either."

 _Ponyboy I am as real as you are._

Pony flinched visibly. He could feel the anger rising in his chest. He felt the heat rise to his forehead. "YOU AREN'T REAL, LITTLE KID! YOU ARE JUST A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION!"

He slumped down. "My imagination . . ."

Holding back the tears made his head heart. He would feel the mass behind his eyes and nose, but he refused to let a single tear fall. He looked up at the white sky. The stress of losing his friends and still being bullied had really messed him up . . .

Logan smirked. Pony guess that it was supposed to be a playful smirk, but it didn't feel like it. It wasn't a humourous smirk, it was an ominous one. And it sent violent shivers down Pony's spine. He turned stone cold. He was shaking.

Logan opened his mouth as he spoke this time. Except, his voice was deep. Nothing like his other voice. Nothing like a child's voice.

"Oh Ponyboy Curtis, if you only understood that I'm trying to do to help you." Logan sighed and slung his arm over Pony's shoulder.

Pony tensed and swallowed, "Listen man, I just want to wake up right now. I swear I'll make the wish soon. Let me some time to think about it okay?"

"Ponyboy Curtis, you only have tonight to make your wish. Otherwise your life will go on as nothing has happened. You don't really want that right? I saw the way you look at everyone. Two-Bit isn't himself. Soda isn't himself. Steve isn't himself. Well, Darry, he can manage, but no one is truly themselves. You remember all those good times right? With Johnny and Dally?And everyone right?"

Pony closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. "Just wake me up." He said icily.

...

Pony woke up by falling of the couch. It wasn't a pleasant experience, because he was still a little sore from being slammed against the lockers at school. But it didn't hurt him as much. Not as much as the thought of Dally and Johnny possibly coming back to life.

He scrambled up, in a small state of panic. His heart beating faster than he had ever experienced it, even when he ran track.

And you wouldn't believe it. Right there, in his palm, when he uncoiled it, was the same silver, round rock he had thrown out the window when he woke up. So of course when he saw that, he panicked even more because coincidences and things like these just didn't happen. There was no way he could've dreamt that, but there was also no way that it was real.

This sudden realization made him hyperventilate. Imagine, dreaming that you could wish your _dead_ friends alive. That couldn't happen. He had watched them die right in front of him. There was no way they could come back to life.

He took a deep breath.

It had just been a dream. It isn't real.

Suddenly, a loud, deep voice called out. "Hey Ponyboy! You awake? What was that thump?"

He jumped once again and dropped the rock. "Darry? Is that you?" He pat his hair. "I fell off."

"Yeah, you've been sleeping for a while now. Did you fall asleep right before I came, or later?"

"What time did you get here?" Ponyboy eyed the glint of the rock.

"I got here about half an hour ago."

"What time is is?" Pony asked as he took another deep breath, in hopes of trying to calm down.

Ponyboy heard Darry move around in the kitchen. "It's 6:43. What time did you snooze off?"

 _Around 11 am._ "An hour ago. "

"Did you sleep peacefully?"

 _No. "Yeah."_

"Good!" _No, not good._

Ponyboy stood up slowly. The room was spinning.

"Darry I'm going to my room okay? I'll going to sleep soon."

"What? Why so early? Weren't you just taking a nap?"

"I don't know. I still feel tired."

"Fine. Okay. But did you eat? Did you take your pills?" Darry hollered out, and for some reason it made his ears ring. It wasn't even that loud. He always talked like that.

No, in fact he hadn't done either of those. He took a deep breath and bent over to pick up the rock. It felt heavy in his hands.

"Yeah I did." He lied. This time it didn't feel right.

"Okay. Have fun!" Darry called playfully.

 _If you only knew Darry . . ._

He was in no manner, going to fall asleep. No way, no how. When he reached his room, he closed the door silently and threw the rock onto his bed.

"You're not going to leave me alone. Not until I make my wish right?" He asked angrily.

The rock seemed to glow at him. But that didn't seem logical. It didn't seem real. Ponyboy rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Great, I'm starting to see things."

He was really starting to think he was going crazy. He'd been watching too many movies . . .

"You know what? I can't take it anymore. I have to get it off my chest." He went over to the rock and held it in his grip. "Yeah, I do feel alone a lot." He whispered to himself. He could feel the lump all the way in the back of his throat. "I wish that no one had died. I wished I started that day all over again. It was all my fault, and you have no idea how much I would give to do it all over again. You have no idea."

He wiped a tear that fell down his cheek. He shoved the silver rock at the bottom of his sock drawer. "There, are you happy now?"

...

Oh, of course Logan was happy. Logan smiled to himself and cracked his knuckles. He pushed back his raven black hair. (He bet you expected him to be a blonde little kid, nah fam)

"Time to get to work."

And when his masterpiece was done. He smiled proudly, viewing his work.

"Ponyboy Curtis," He laughed and took a step back. "You'll be thanking me later."

...

Even though he had blantly refused to go to sleep, eventually laying in the dark tapping his fingers bore him.

The thing that woke him up was the light. The bright light that shone right in front of his face. And then that's when he realized that he wasn't at home.

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 **Uhggggg Im stuck . . . I don't know how to write the next chapter … buT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Things will get spicy, so keep reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**U guys have no idea how much I love Darry! *wheezes* And yes i'm pretty sure this story had been attempted before … probably. Hinton owns the boys. Had to post this before I didn't have a chance to, it's pretty long...**

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The bright light didn't fade actually. It merely dimmed a little bit, but it still stung Pony's eyes. Yet when he got used to it, that's when he realized the he was surrounded by complete darkness and that the bright light was actually a screen.

He heard the small chatters and whispered of people beside him. And only then, it dawned on him that he had been watching a movie. He was in a movie house.

He turned around, quickly catching a few people here and there. It seemed that the movie had ended, and the people got up to leave. Ponyboy could only stare, feeling something unsettling in the pit of his stomach, his legs felt like jello too.

 _Huh. I don't remember coming here . . ._

He vaguely wondered what he had been watching as he stood up and walked outside. He felt something move in the pit of his stomach. The pain in his back had disappeared, which was really weird . . . Had he also taken some Advil?

 _I hope I don't throw up again._

Pony slowly walked up the hallway to make go outside. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There _was_ something off, something he couldn't place his finger on. Not to mention that he didn't know where and how he had gone to see a movie in the first place.

 _Does Darry know what I am?_

A saddening feeling overtook his body. He was a bit irritated with himself. The last time he had lost track of time had been just a few days ago. And if this kept on going on, Darry would surely find out soon. Nothing could stay hidden from Darry for too long these days . . . Darry at least would understand. He was the only one who Ponyboy could talk to.

And those guidance counselors at school would only spread gossip about the student's secrets. He didn't have Johnny or Sodapop anymore . . . even the old Two-Bit would've listened to his problems . . . But he couldn't tell Darry he was having these dreams and that the pills weren't working and that sometimes his nightmares got to the point where he couldn't breath right. So maybe, he couldn't really talk to him . . .

For a second, Pony stopped walking and leaned against the entrance. He couldn't have had another 'blackout,' as the doctors called them. It wasn't possible. He would've at least remembered waking up and saying good morning to his would've at least remembered wishing Darry goodbye. Maybe he just threw on some clothes and didn't say goodbye to Darry . . .

 _He might be worried._

Ponyboy just stared out into the street in a daze. He would've at least remembered thinking about going to watch a movie too.

Ponyboy pinched himself, but when that didn't 'wake' him up, he slapped his cheeks. The pain that he felt was real enough and his knees were never shaky in his dreams. _Never_. It also didn't feel like a dream. In his dreams he couldn't read, but as he was looking at the sign right across the street, he figured that there were firsts for everything.

...

Pony started to walk down the street, staring at the hole in his shoe. Had that been there before? For a split second he'd wish he would've gotten new shoes. But that reminded him of Logan. And in the back of his mind, Pony remembered his dream. Then he remembered about Logan and about the wishes. And then he remembered about his dead friends.

He sighed. "You know what?" He said, talking to himself. "That's the last time I don't take my pills. Maybe _that's_ the problem. I didn't take them, and _boom_ , problems already."

He shook his head and checked his pocket, disappointed to find that he didn't have his pack of gum with him.

"I need to buy a new one anyways," Pony reminded himself, and stuck both his hands in his pockets to prevent from biting them.

It wasn't long before trouble appeared. He should've known it would happen. After all, he was walking all alone and ever since Bob's death, the Socs had become more ruthless. But even as Ponyboy spotted a very nice looking car out of the corner of his eye, he didn't feel scared.

That wasn't until the car started to speed up and threaten to run him over, because after that, he felt his heart speed up and he started to walk a bit faster.

 _Oh no. They don't ever stop._

His fast walking soon turned into jogging, and that soon turned into running. But no one could outrun a car. Not even a once-used-to-be star track runner.

The car somehow seemed familiar. It was this red shade, but maybe it was just because red shaded cars were common these days. It was a popular color.

Pony put his running skills to use, but it was a shame because he had been out of shape for a long time. He had quit track and now ran for fun. He couldn't take the stress of everyone counting on him to be the top runner.

Eventually Pony slowed down a whole lot because he'd gotten a sudden cramp in his calf. But that was when the car pulled ahead and a good amount of Socs piled out.

Pony's heart was hammering in his chest from the exhaustion and fear.

 _I could still make it. I'm not that far from home._

All those thoughts disappeared, when they circled him, blocking his only way out. And what surprised him more than being trapped, was the fact that they were the same Socs that had jumped him before his friend's death.

He swallowed.

 _They're going to kill me for sure. They're gonna finish what they couldn't get a chance to._

At that moment, Ponyboy knew that he would have no chance.

Yeah he could fight, better than the last time he had been jumped, but he was alone. It wasn't' very helpful because he was already dead tired and outnumbered. It didn't really bother him to know that he could just turn around and head for the hills.

"Hey greaser," one of them hissed.

 _Well this is new._

All of them were smiling and it occurred to Ponyboy that this was a pretty realistic dream because it seemed eerily familiar. Almost like the last time.

He spun around to see if he could escape, but of course he ran right into one of them and in a second they had him pinned down.

He fought hard. And for a second, he managed to free himself from the grasp of one of them, but that was a mistake.

Suddenly a punch to the stomach made him lay there, gasping. It left him open for an attack, because at that moment he was trying to find a breath. This was starting to feel too real.

Even with his eyes squeezed shut he could still picture everything. From the formation of the clouds to the their faces.

They somehow managed to pick him up, and slammed him onto the ground. He felt the blood run down his nose. Then, he was flipped over. The others held down his legs ad arms, as one of them who looked like the leader sat down on his chest.

"Looks like you need a haircut, greaser." He spat, there was a glint of something in his hand.

Those words made him shiver because of how similar it had sounded before.

 _Need a haircut greaser?_

He was dreaming right?

Then he was punched in the face, his eye hurt. His heart sped up and his ribs were killing him.

 _The pain seems pretty real to me._

The Soc ontop of him smiled evilly and flicked out his switchblade for Pony to see.

"How about a cut right below the chin?"

And that's he started to yell.

"HELP! ANYONE HELP!"

Even if he was in a dream, he was still scared. It almost felt exactly like the last time, even though it was slightly different, he still felt the same fear. He tried to break their grip, but they only held on tighter. He was pretty sure that when he woke up, he for sure would still feel the pain on his wrists.

The guy on top of him, the one who was making it hard for Pony to breath, brought out a blade dangerously close to his neck.

 _They're gonna actually do it._

He started to struggle more.

"Darry! DARRY!"

Darry always saved him in his dreams, right before the Socs even thought of jumping him. So where was he now? Darry would kick their butts. He could beat up to fifteen Socs in his dreams. But where was he now? There were only about five . . . Had Darry also left him alone in his dreams?

The thought made him panic even more. It made his heart hurt, but maybe it was the bruised ribs. He couldn't tell.

"DARRY! HELP ME! DARRY!"

 _Where is he?_

"HELP! DARRY! DAR-"

One of them shoved something in his mouth, but he kept trying to yell.

They punched him in the face again, and they kicked him in the stomach. Pony let out a gagging noise as the cloth was shoved deeper into his mouth, and his screams were growing weaker by the second.

"Shut him up! Shut him up for pete's sake!" One of them yelled.

It wasn't long before he heard the loud heavy footsteps of what was probably Darry. He could hear his blood rushing to his ears, and the shouts were muffled.

He felt his arms and legs being released from the grips of the Socs and the heavy pressure on his chest the was making it harder for Pony to breath, left.

Suddenly he was roughly pulled up. He felt the strong, sturdy hand of the one and only.

"Pony? Are you okay? Ponyboy are you alright?"

Darry was shaking him too much, and his head was spinning.

"Darry stop it. I'm okay. Quit shaking me."

He squeezed his eyes shut, and sat on his hands to stop them from shaking. So, Darry stopped immediately. Pony heard him let out a breath.

"They didn't get you too badly right?"

Of course they had, but he didn't tell Darry that. It didn't matter if they were able to talk more. Not even in his dreams would he admit he was hurting. And he didn't really feel like lying, so he didn't say anything.

Instead he just stood up slowly, his eyes still closed and took a deep breath. But not too deep, because his chest was aching and his nose burned.

He heard more footsteps, but brushed them away as people trying to see what had happened.

Then, a took familiar voice ran out, and it sickened Ponyboy to the point where he wanted to wake up. Wake up before it got too good.

"Ponyboy, looks like you got cut a little."

Pony turned to see Sodapop concerned. And talking. And _here._ Not to mention that his eye's didn't look dead. He wasn't hunched over and he still had this happy aura that emitted from his, despite having his brother almost killed.

Even in his dreams Soda didn't talk anymore. Soda just didn't go out anymore either. He remembered reading the sign back when he had exited the movie house, and guessed that there were _indeed_ firsts for everything.

He didn't say anything as Soda came up to him. Didn't say anything as he pulled out his handkerchief.

 _He's talking._

"Ponyboy are you alright? They didn't get you too hard right?"

 _He's actually talking._

"I, uh, I'm alright." He paused abruptly. "Are you okay?"

Soda laughed. It was a worried laughter, but he laughed. "Of course."

He stepped back a bit and stared at Darry, away from Soda's wandering hands.

 _It's Darry who should be helping me._

Soda looked at Darry too. "Ponyboy, are you sure you're alright? I mean you're bleeding. Come here so I can help you."

Pony just stared and looked at Darry expectantly.

Darry just looked around, obviously confused. "We can patch him up at home Soda. He's obviously spooked. C'mon. He'll feel better soon."

Ponyboy just blinked. "Darry I'm okay." He said slowly. "It wasn't as bad as last time. I just-" He wanted to sit down. "Just let me have a moment. Okay?"

Both brothers glanced at each other as he started to lower himself.

"Last time? What do you mean last time? Was it at school? Steve and Two-Bit should've told me. You should've told me." Darry said in an accusatory tone.

 _Steve and Two-Bit don't even come to school anymore. I thought you knew._

In his dreams Darry always knew. Even then, Pony didn't fire back. He was too tired to, and he knew Darry was right. He sat down at the edge of the curb.

"I know I should have told you-" He cut himself off. "Steve and Two-Bit didn't know either."

Soda took a step back and watched silently as Darry scolded Pony.

"What do you mean they don't know! They're supposed to-"

Suddenly he was interrupted by Soda, who seemed to be talking to someone.

"Hey," Soda called out to someone behind Ponyboy. "Didja catch em?"

Pony was still looking down. He felt sick to his stomach. He recognized those footsteps.

"Nope. Those slimy bastards got away." The voice chuckled.

 _Wake me up, before it gets too good._

Slowly Pony raised his head up and there stood the rest of the gang.

Steve, looking exactly like he did before. His eyes weren't blazing with anger and according to his body language he seemed calm. He squinted at Pony.

Two-Bit was walking weird, but as he got closer, he looked sober. He didn't have that crazed look in his eye. He didn't have that glazed look either. His voice was clear too. He didn't look like he was drunk out of his mind.

And then there was Dally. He didn't look scared or angry at the world at that moment. He didn't even have the usual bullet holes that riddled in his chest. He looked calm too.

And then the last person. The very person, who as once as Pony thought about, made his heart and soul burn. It was Johnny. No burns or scars were anywhere in his body. He wasn't in a wheelchair. He wasn't walking like a zombie, headed towards Pony, blaming him that it was all his fault. He didn't even _look_ angry.

No. None of the gang looked like he usually dreamt them. Not one of them was yelling and blaming him that it was his fault that they were all like this. It made him happy, but at the same time it hurt him.

 _Just wake me up before I never want to._

Pony unconsciously stared at Dally in awe, and Dally laughed.

"Got out of the cooler for good behavior." He said and started to light up a cancer stick.

Hadn't he said something similar the last time?

Darry crouched down next to Ponyboy. "Now what was I saying? Why didn't you tell me before?" Darry's tone was accusing, but he didn't really care. He really knew that Darry was worried about him.

 _Ah, even in my dreams._

Everyone was staring at him, he could feel it. But he just look at Darry in the eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He said calmly. The fear had subsided, now filled with this numbness. It encased his body. He turned around. And Pony had been right, everyone _was_ looking at him weirdly. He gripped his head.

Darry might've mistook it for pain, because it only took a mere second for him to point it out. "Did they hit you in the head Pony?"

Pony shrugged. No they hadn't, but he couldn't stop staring at Johnny. His skin -had it looked so light before? He felt his heart lurch.

"Pony?"

They were really there. Right in front of him. It was too good to be true. And then something happened, Johnny was faintly smiling. He was actually smiling at _him._

At that moment Pony stood up, scaring away everyone. He walked over to Johnny and hugged him. Johnny just gave everyone a really scared and frightened look as he was being squeezed tightly by Ponyboy. Darry closed his eyes and sighed.

 _I'm so sorry Johnny. But I really needed to hug you. This might be my only chance now, because you're not yelling at me._ He thought.

Suddenly he was ripped off and he didn't even care. At least he got to hug Johnny before he woke up. Johnny was all that mattered.

But he didn't wake up. He was still staring at Johnny, so he turned around and found out that Dally was holding him by the neck. Darry glared at Dally.

"Dally, careful with him. He just got jumped." Darry huffed out.

Dally ignored him. "Hey kid, you're creepin' everyone out. So cut the bullshit okay? Sto-"

Ponyboy hugged him too.

Of course it didn't surprise him when Dally threw Pony onto the ground. Even in his dreams Dally was rough. He might've been angry at him too, for killing Johnny.

And when he hit the ground, he was ready to wake up. He had said goodbye to Dally once and for all. He didn't even feel angry. The old Dally would've done the same.

"Dally!" Darry yelled. "What's the matter with you? Didn't I say that he just got jumped?"

Dally coughed. "He was _hugging_ me. What was I supposed to do? Let him? No way man."

Two-Bit began to laugh. It was a laugh that made Pony want to cry because it was a careless laugh. The one Pony hadn't heard in a long time.

"Looks like Ponyboy had finally lost it." He cackled. "He _hugged_ Dally! What's he gonna do next? Hug Steve?"

Pony brushed himself off and stood up, accepting the help of Darry, which to say freaked out Darry. Because Pony always refused his help. Always.

Pony had always detested Steve. But now that he was here and not cursing him out and threatening to beat him up, he was grateful. So he hugged him too. He hugged everyone. And even Darry, because why not? Darry had always been there for him.

 _When I wake up, I'll hug Darry too._

Of course he ignored the strange stares, because he knew that in his dream, the gang probably didn't know that two of them had died, the rest had gone into depression and that he'd gotten closer to Darry.

But it appeared that all of what had happened was starting to really start to affect Pony. Being jumped by the greasers and the effects of Dally slamming him onto the ground was starting to take a toll on him.

Black fuzzy dots started to fog his vision. Even though he didn't want to worry Darry, he te tried to resist the overwhelming sensation of passing out. It wasn't long until he collapsed to his knees and held his head.

"Ponyboy?"

He felt hands grip onto his shoulders, but that didn't stop him from leaning forward and as he breathed in. Tried to breath in at least. It was all too much.

" _Ponyboy!"_

He could still hear the faint cries of surprise of all his friends as the black pavement rushed to his face. And then everything went black.

 _Yeah, wake me up when it just started to get good._

* * *

 **Oh boy, oh boy, my dog swallowed another rock again. Sorry for any spelling mistakes and the long chapter? Well anyways, thanks for reading! Another chapter is coming . . . soon? THings are getting spicy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Confession time guys. I had this chapter typed up a long time ago, but I forgot that I didn't post it, and I didn't know how to start or end it. (EDITED 9/12/17)**

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The first thing Pony did when his eyes fluttered open as he was met by another day with the feeling of emptiness, was to silently cry. He didn't want to wake up Soda, in fear that Soda would just stare at him and leave. Or Darry either, because Darry had enough things to worry about. Earning money in back breaking work was enough, and crying teenagers were such a fuss. Ponyboy thought that he didn't even want to see them today . . .

He'd just hate how _old_ Darry looked despite being young. And he'd hate how Soda would hunch over, with a dead expression on his face after witnessing him in Pony's dreams.

Ponyboy closed his eyes and more tears pooled and dripped down his cheeks. He cried silently, no noise except for deep breath. He was crying because, he'd seen all his friends as the once were. He'd even seen Johnny and Dally. And he'd finally made peace with them. Now, he hoped, they would no longer torment him in his dreams. Even if Pony had been jumped in his dreams, he was happy to have seen all of them one final time. Happy and carefree as they once looked.

It was kind of cruel actually. After such a long time, he'd finally taught himself not to hurt, not to physically feel the emptiness that tore his heart open. And it had worked, and he'd been so close. And now that he'd seen everyone, it tore that wound right open without hesitation. Like someone kindly putting on a bandaid on someone else, before ripping it off ferociously without warning.

Once the tears were angrily wiped away (because, come on, his friends were dead and he had to accept that fact) Ponyboy sat up, his body sore and stiff. And once his eyes adjusted to the brightness in the room, he saw that he was not in _his_ room. He was in Soda's room.

Soda and his' own room.

Ponyboy tensed and wildly looked around for any sign of Soda, watching carefully and skeptically for him, not to speak. Rather telling Pony to leave, with just the expression on his face.

So, before any fighting without words happened, Pony threw off the covers as quickly as he could and scrambled to the door. He didn't want to feel anything, it was just too soon.

Ponyboy, just before he ripped open the door and ran to his room, glanced around to the clock. It read seven, but when he actually went over by the window, he realized that the sun was already going down. But there was no way he'd slept a whole day right? Or maybe he'd only been sleeping for thirty minutes. Maybe Soda went somewhere. Or maybe he had never gotten home. Either way, he needed to get out fast. Soda wouldn't be too pleased to find him in his room.

Ponyboy, not risking making any noise that would attract attention, slowly crept to the door and opened the door handle, where he stepped outside and headed towards his room.

It was strange because when he went into his room, it was clean and spotless. He was also sure that he hadn't cleaned up his room.

 _Maybe Darry cleaned it . . ._

But Darry was too busy to even clean his own room. It didn't matter. He would have to thank him later.

 **xxx**

Ponyboy was sure of it. He was sure that Soda was talking. The way the voice raised and lowered excitedly, or how it sometimes stopped, and started back up again. Well, he didn't know exactly if Soda was talking. If he was, maybe this was a dream, within a dream, because when he was jumped -it didn't happen. But what struck Ponyboy as odd, was the he heard mumbling in the kitchen. Darry was home. So either someone else was talking with Darry. Maybe Darry had finally met someone, because Soda wouldn't talk to Darry and not him right? Ponyboy felt something lurch in his stomach, and his hand flew to his mouth. .

 _Don't throw up again or else Darry will have to clean it up, because you'd be too busy trying not to throw up again. And you don't want Darry or Soda to clean it up -they have enough going on._

The stairs were right next to the kitchen, so it wasn't much of a journey he had to walk. Ponyboy didn't really walk either. He quickly tiptoed downstairs and found Soda sitting right next to Darry, his mouth, in a position that seemed that he'd been talking.

He just stared for a second, before he ripped his gaze away. Disappointed and hurt.

"Goodmorning Darry," Pony mumbled.

He just gave Soda a quick nod, just like always.

Again, his heart sank to his stomach. Why was Soda talking to Darry and not him? He merely looked up as he made his way over to the sink and served himself some water. He could feel the eyes of his brothers boring his.

He turned around and his brother, broke into a smile. _Sodapop smiled._

Pony rubbed his eyes and drank more water. Sodapop couldn't be smiling. But then he almost choked on the water when he heard him talk.

"Ponyboy are you alright?"

 _What?_

He spun around. Had Soda said that? Ponyboy eyed Soda, waiting for him to move his mouth again, to say anything, but after a full second of not saying anything, he slowly turned around again and sipped his water.

There was a snort. "Geez Pony, you're _enthusiastic_ I see. I'd be shaking from the adrenaline."

What on earth was Darry talking about?

"Hey Pony, are you okay? Why're not answering?"

Pony turned slowly, wide eyed, and Soda laughed out loud. "Man, they sure messed you up didn't they?" Yep, that was definitely Sodapop.

Ponyboy slowly turned and opened his mouth. "Are _you_ okay?"

Soda laughed again, more forced this time (Pony could tell, because he'd heard it so many times after Johnny and Dally had died, until they stopped completely), the tense mood spiking tremendously. He was smiling tightly and looking at Darry. "I should be asking you that Pones. Are you sure you're okay? Or is this a joke? You didn't say goodmorning to me! When they clocked you, did they force you to stop speaking?"

 _Impaired you to stop speaking . . ._

Pony finished drinking his water at top speed. "Goodmorning." He said quickly. Then he turned to flee the kitchen, but was stopped by Darry tight grip on his shoulder, which was sore. Had it been sore?

"Woah, Ponyboy, you shouldn't be moving around so much, you lost quite some blood."

 _Blood?_

"What are you talking about Darry?" He asked.

"You don't want to reopen that cut right?"

 _What Cut? What blood?_

Pony could feel his heart flutter. He ignored Darry's comment.

"Blood? What blood? Darry are you okay?" Pony was getting frantic.

Darry shook his head. "Pony do you need some meds? Did you hit your head when they got you?"

Pony started to back up. He looked back at Soda. He looked worried. "Who got me? Darry is this a joke? Stop it okay?"

Was this a prank? Would Soda stop talking in the end? Or maybe he'd been pranked all along. If this was true, he didn't like it one bit. Ponyboy took a step back and looked at anywhere, except at his brothers.

Darry looked at Soda worriedly. "Pony don't you remember? You were jumped-"

Pony shook his head and eyed the exit. "No, that was a dream."

Both brothers looked at each other. Darry opened his mouth to say that they need to go to the doctor and get him checked out and there would be no 'buts', but that was when Pony ran out into the living room and as far as Darry could tell, he was making a run to his room.

Darry was about to yell at Pony, but he stopped himself, hearing a loud thump.

Pony hadn't even gotten that far, looking behind him several times, missing in the way that someone was glaring at him.

Before the person could yell and warn him what would happen, Pony tumbled and he heard someone curse. Pony had fallen on top of someone and he felt his whole body freeze. No. _No, no, no, no, no_.

He'd fallen on top of _Steve_. When had Steve come here? It'd been so long. So long.

 _I thought that Steve and Soda stopped talking._

"Hey kid you gonna move or what?" Steve didn't wait long, before he roughly pushed Ponyboy off. "Watch where you're goin'." He gruffly said.

Pony scrambled off. " I wasn't paying attention, I was just on my way."

He hadn't known Steve was here. If he had, Pony would've stayed in his room. Well, if Darry hadn't been trying to help him, he would've stayed in his room.

Ponyboy just stood there looking at Steve before turning away hesitantly, as if Steve were to do something to him, and Steve noticed this.

He scowled, rubbing his side, and got up. "Calm down kid-"

"I wasn't paying attention," Ponyboy repeated. "I won't bother you anymore. I swear."

He wasn't going to take any chances because Pony had heard some rumors that Steve had landed a girl in the hospital and had landed himself in jail. It seemed like it hadn't been true, but Steve had never liked him. Pony could be a risk taker when he wanted to, but not today.

Pony climbed the steps quickly, but not too quickly to make it seem that he wanted to get away from Steve -which he was. He went by twos, and threes, even _fours_. And there weren't even that _many_ steps.

He heard Steve and Darry and Soda calling him, but there was no way he was actually going to go downstairs. Something weird was happening and he didn't like it one bit. No, it was more than weird. This was _unnatural_ and strange.

He stayed holed up in _his_ room for about five minutes, trying to catch his breath and trying to think up ways on how to escape the country with $15 he had saved up. Maybe he'd go to Texas, he's always wanted to see Houston. Or maybe he could simply walk out and walk away. Anything was better than this torturous feeling of something bad about to happen.

The wait was probably even less than one minute, because all at once, Ponyboy heard the heavy footsteps of what seemed to be Darry, he shrunk back. His back pressed on the back of the door, his chest slowly falling and rising . . . Then came the knocking, which was surprisingly directed to Soda's door.

The usual yells were muffled, because they were directed to another door, and because Pony was behind a door. It was a short and strict, "Ponyboy! Open up! Pony-" Then there had been creaking noises of what Pony assumed was the door opening.

There was a fairly long stretch of silence. It was a confused silence. He could feel the confusion, but that silence didn't last too long.

Suddenly Darry's weight shifted and squeaked on the floors near Ponyboy's room. Soft knocking followed. "Ponyboy? Are you in _there_?" There was a clear sound of disbelief and concern. "Ponyboy?"

Ponyboy shifted quietly, his back was still now pressed roughly against the door. "I'm in here Darry," he said softly.

Another long pause, followed by more concern. "What on almighty earth are you doing there?"

 _What else would I be doing here?_

"I was in my room. I don't know. I was trying to gather myself." Pony breathed out and tapped his fingers on his arm. He wanted to sleep. It would get dark soon. Maybe he'd take some sleeping pills Darry hid in the cabinets-

Darry's voice cut through Ponyboy's thoughts. The voice was rough and slow, as if it were talking to a young child. "Ponyboy, uh, just come out when you can, okay? You need to eat something. Maybe that'll make you feel better. Come out."

Pony closed his eyes, purposely ignoring what Darry had said. "Is Soda talking?"

Would he really be talking? But that was impossible, unless he was only talking to Darry and not him, and Ponyboy would get that because Darry listened and gave you advice when you had to say something, but all of a sudden, Ponyboy felt something cramp up inside him. One couldn't really physically hurt just because there were sad right? If so, then that'd explain all the phantom pains he'd been hav-

"Of course Soda is talking, Pony. Why wouldn't he?"

Ponyboy rubbed his arms.

 _Why would he?_

Maybe he was still dreaming. Yeah. That was it. Once that had been quickly decided and everything else that had happened over the course of the day was banished and (hopefully) locked in the back of his mind, Pony opened the door carefully. There was no need to argue with Darry, after all, he'd promised himself he wouldn't argue with him ever again. Not even in his dreams.

 _Am I awake? What's happening._

Ponyboy stared at Darry intentiely. He didn't know if it was the shadows, but Darry seemed to look younger. No worry marks, or bags under his eyes . . .

Darry looked Ponyboy up and down, and suddenly he opened his mouth, possibly just to break the awkward silence. "Once you eat, we'll check those cuts okay? We need to clean them."

Pony kept staring. "I'm just going to stay put for a while okay?" He stated blankly, and looked behind him.

There was a long pause, and soft sigh."Sure?" Darry picked at his nails and looked down the stairs."Pony when you're done come downstairs okay?"

"Okay."

Darry stood there, watching him before he reluctantly turned away. Loud, heavy footsteps, following him. And when soft whispers of conversations began downstairs, Ponyboy turned, and locked his door.

Pony sat down on his bed. The one that seemed too stiff all of a sudden.

" _You're denying it, ya know?"_

Pony turned his head. Right next to him was, sitting on his bed was Logan. _Logan._

"What do you mean?" Pony asked.

" _I made your wish come true."_

Pony shook his head sadly. "No."

Logan smiled.

" _Yes."_

 _I'm going crazy. I've finally snapped. I wonder if Darry is worried._ Ponyboy thought. _Maybe I should really go to therapy . . . Darry's been nagging me, and it's about time._

" _Darry is worried. Because you're staying in your old room. You still share rooms with Soda you know. Oh and he isn't even thinking about therapy right now. Maybe a doctor because you're acting strange."  
_ Pony shook his head. "I've finally gone off the deep end. And I'm talking to myself."

Logan stepped right in front of him.

" _So what if you have gone the deep end? At least enjoy it right?"_

"How can I enjoy it when I know it's going to end soon?"

" _Because if you think it's going to end soon, then you just embrace it. But just telling you, it's not."_

Pony snorted. "Okay, okay. Fine. "

So, once he'd gathered his bearings, and made up a reasonable excuse to Darry, why he'd been in his 'old' room, Ponyboy unlocked the door and glanced out into the hallway. There was no on there, and thank God for that, because he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. But if he had to -well, it couldn't be helped. Ponyboy just didn't feel like going downstairs, despite the fact that Darry had asked him to. He didn't want to see anyone today, not now, not after the fact that he'd made a wish that his friends never died and that Logan had appeared outside his dream.

Maybe, he's tell Darry that he had homework due, and wouldn't be out in a few hours-

"Ponyboy!"

Yep, that plan was obliterated in no less than five seconds.

"I'm coming Darry! Give me a sec!"

Ponyboy turned around, and saw that Logan was no longer in his room. And for a moment it all seemed wrong. Everything. But he pushed those feelings aside and headed downstairs.

There was bustle and noise in the kitchen, and when he walked in, he almost stopped breathing.

Johnny was there.

Sitting in one of the chairs.

Looking perfectly healthy and happy and safe.

Johnny looked up,

and smiled.

"Hi Pony."

And

then,

Ponyboy

wanted

to

cry.

And

 _Scream._

* * *

 **Oops, #sorry (not sorry) for the short chapter, was that a short chapter?Gotta keep you guys on ur toes. Oh and** **Guys help I'm stuck, I have no idea how what else to write next… gotta read me some more supernatural**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay guys, start getting ready for the drama. Cause it's coming straight for you like that beam- I'M SORRY I MEANT A TRAIN**

 **WARNING: TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK YET, THERE A MAJOR SPOILERS SO BEWARE**

* * *

" _You know, you can talk to them. Right?"_ A young voice chimed in as he would be helping the already tense situation. " _Stop acting so tense."_

Ponyboy moved his shoulders and sat back in his chair, otherwise trying to ignore the comment and the fact that he'd actually tried to relax. He looked around, making sure that no one hear the same voice he'd heard, even though he _knew_ no one would.

And when he saw that everyone kept on laughing and smacking each other in the head, Ponyboy shoved another mouthful of soup into his mouth. He kept his eyes trained ahead, because he could feel Johnny was staring at him. And strangely, he didn't like it, because it felt strange. It felt like if Ponyboy looked into Johnny's eyes, he would be able to read him like an open book. And Pony didn't want that.

Darry stopped stirring the soup, smiled and looked at Sodapop. "Geez Pony, if I knew you were this hungry, I would've made more. You like the soup?"

Pony nodded and swallowed another spoonful. It salty and metallic -it must've been the spoon. Or maybe if was when he bit his tongue to keep shut when he saw Dally waltzing in awhile back.

" _You're going to make them suspicious. Just talk to them. They won't bite."_

Ponyboy let his eyes wander to the source of the voice. It was Logan again. He'd appeared right after he'd gone downstairs, reassuring Pony that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn't going to be okay. It was _never_ going to be okay.

"Ponyboy," Two-Bit began in a high pitched voice. "Did I tell you that your shiner is shining all over the place? You look like the sun, except well, you're blue."

He was trying to obviously be funny, but Pony didn't find it funny at all. He nodded numbly instead, and took another spoonful.

Darry glanced over at Ponyboy and frowned. "Ponyboy, does your head hurt?"

Ponyboy looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him earnestly. He avoided Dally and Johnny's eyes. letting his eyes wander to Logan, who was smiling like there was no tomorrow.

" _Go on Pony, tell them,"_ he said giddily. " _Your head doesn't hurt."_

"My head doesn't hurt." Ponyboy stated confidently.

Dally turned and looked in the direction where Pony had been staring, and everyone followed pursuit. Dally was the one who spoke up though, saying, "Whaddya doin' lookin' there all the time Pony? See a ghost?" He chuckled and nudged Two-Bit. "Or did the Soc's get you good in the head?"

Steve rolled his eyes and Soda smirked. Darry turned back and kept stirring. Two-Bit took another gulp of his drink and Johnny didn't do anything. Logan smiled again and Ponyboy kept his mouth in a tight line.

Dally stopped laughing suddenly and sat up in his seat. "What's your problem Pony? I was just joking." He looked bored and Pony was sure he said the wrong thing, he would get angry.

"I know," Pony nodded.

Johnny swept his eyes around the whole room, his eyes stopping on Pony, because he was concerned. _Concussion maybe?_ He thought. But Dally rolled his eyes and slumped back in his chair. "Anyways," he ran his hand through his hair. "I have nothin' better to do." He turned, facing both Johnny and Ponyboy. "You guys, wanna watch a movie tonight?"

Pony, who had reached over to drink his lemonade, choked on his drink, and froze, catching everyone's attention, especially Dally's. Because Dally knew body language after spending so much time with criminals and what not. Dally pretended he didn't notice, but he did. And stopped what he had been doing -which was picking at his fingernails- and watched him, interested at his reactions.

Logan smiled as everyone watched Ponyboy in concern. " _Hey kiddo, if you keep acting like that, they might put you in a mental hospital."_

Ponyboy grimaced at the nickname, but otherwise he ignored it. He rubbed his mouth, noticing how bad he'd reacted. He should be more careful, or else Darry might worry. And he didn't want Darry to worry. But it was still Friday, he still had time. _What time was it?_ He thought

" _It's 7 o'clock, kiddo,"_ Logan sing songed reading his thoughts. " _The whole showdown starts around 1 am. You still have time."_

Darry stared, puzzled at Ponyboy and was about to answer Dally first, but Pony cut in. He swallowed and caught his breath, "No. Um, sorry Dally, I have homework to do. Maybe another time." He tried to compose himself. Because Dally was Dally, and he could smell a lie from a mile. But Pony had gotten better at lying, so it wasn't really a problem.

Dally raised an eyebrow and Darry frowned. "Ponyboy, you can go if you want to," Darry said honestly and slowly. "You can go. Just take some pills and you can go."

"I thought that you finished all your homework," Sodapop added observantly. "That's why you went to the movie house."

Logan hopped off from the counter and sat in an empty chair across the room. " _Uh oh, kiddo, your stories aren't adding up. You gotta think twice before you speak."_

Steve snorted. "If he doesn't want to to, he doesn't want to go."

Everyone was staring at him and -could they see how much he'd changed? He hoped that they couldn't see his muscles, and point it out again. Pony wiped his brow were sweat had started to accumulate. He opened his mouth to say something but-

"Maybe he doesn't want to go because his head hurts," Johnny said quietly, coming to the rescue. He turned to Ponyboy. "Right?"

" _That good ol' Johnnyboy. He's saved you so many times. It's a shame he died."_ Logan cut in. " _Did you even realize how many times he's helped you?"_

Ponyboy clenched his jaw. "Yeah," he said, his voice laced with tension. "I just didn't want to say anything . . . " (Darry frowned again.) And to make it seem even more convincing, he added. "I didn't want to say anything to seem like a wimp . . . "

Two-Bit was looking at him. "Kid, you were jumped by some Soc's. If ya don't feel good, you don't hafta go anywhere. We get it."

Dally stood up abruptly, scraping the chair on the floor, which Darry ignored. "Well, you guys know where I'll be if any of you decided to join me."

"I'm busy," Darry said. "Or to say it honestly, tired. So I won't be joining you. I got to go to work early tomorrow."

" _And he doesn't like movies, did you forget?"_ Logan quipped up as if Dally could hear him, which Pony prayed he could not.

Two-Bit yawned. "I guess I'll stop by, but I gotta take care of my sister." he shrugged. "Maybe this'll be the day and I meet the love of my life."

" _Marcia maybe,"_ Logan said, wiggling his eyebrows. " _But only if, ya know, Johnny dies. And Dally too."_

Pony's mouth went dry and he hurriedly filled his spoon with more soup.

Johnny frowned. "I thought you were with Kathy, Two-Bit."

"I like her, but I don't think I'm gonna marry her, if ya know what I mean." Two-Bit winked at Johnny and Johnny just frowned even more.

Steve shook his head to Dally's answer, and nodded towards Sodapop. "Sorry Dal, but me an' Soda are pickin' up Sandy and Evie for the game."

Dally nodded knowingly and looked at Johnny. But at the mention of Sandy's name Pony's stomach did about fifty somersaults. His eyes wandered to Logan, who shrugged.

" _As far as I know, Sandy's still pregnant. I'm not telling you who the father is though."_ Logan shrugged. " _Am I being of help or nah?"_

Ponyboy ignored the comment, and agreed in his mind that Logan wasn't helping. He had never really helped, just commented on everything and made Pony anxious. But he had helped in bringing Dally and Johnny to life, and he had also helped everyone else go back to themselves . . .

"So Ponyboy," Dally said and watched Soda and Steve walk out the door. "I just wanted to confirm this, but are ya goin' or not?"

Ponyboy shook his head confidently. "No Dally, I'm not going,"

"Okay," Dally said, focusing his attention on Johnny. "Hey Johnnycake, you going?"

Logan sat up in his seat and watched as Johnny opened his mouth to answer and-

"No. Johnny's not going. I'm working with him on a project. It's due Monday."

Logan nodded his head up and down, impressed. " _Wow, nice save Pony. You should lie every now and then, but hey aren't you lying enough as it is?"_

Johnny looked at Ponyboy weirdly, but he didn't say anything, obviously knowing that if he did everything for a reason, like Dally.

 **...**

When everyone left to go to do their own thing, Ponyboy silently ushered Johnny away from the other's ears.

For a second, he actually might say it. He actually is thinking that he's going to do it. He's going to tell Johnny about everything, right here and now. Finally someone to talk to. But he wouldn't tell Johnny about his death, about Bob's death, about Dally's death, about Sandy. Or the rumble. But then a thought strikes him. If he isn't going to tell Johnny anything then what's the point?

He opened his mouth, trying to ignore the way Johnny sent him a worried look. "Johnny, stay here tonight."

But Johnny doesn't respond to the comment. Instead he asked Pony about before. "Ponyboy," he began slowly. "Why did you give such a lame excuse to Dally. We don't got no project due Monday. So what's going on?"

The face the Johnny gave him, made Ponyboy sad. He didn't want to lie, but of course he had to. No one was going to believe him, not even Johnny, his best friend.

Logan was watching from a distance, no trace of humor in his features.

Pony smiled tightly. "I'm scared," he replied, lying. "I just wanted to talk."

Johnny's stern eyes suddenly loosen, and he just sighed. "I can't. I'm so sorry Pony, but my folks . . . if I'm not there soon . . . "

Logan watched the whole thing, he watched as Pony tried to nod through the whole thing. And Ponyboy doesn't know whether Johnny is lying, or if something in the timeline changed.

He didn't ask Logan, as Johnny walked out the door and into the night.

 **X X X X**

He began to write. He tried to remember, making a list of everything that had happened, writing everything down in his notebook. The one where he wrote everything. Basically his journal, which if Dally found out, he would call it a Diary. He hoped that Soda didn't find it, or Dally either. Because if they did, not only would they make fun of him, but they would question the events. And then they would tell everyone else in the gang.

1\. Got out of school and went to movie house

2\. Got jumped and cut below my jaw.

3\. Went to drive in

4\. Met cherry and had a fight with their boyfriends

5\. Left and fell asleep at the lot

6\. Darry-

Pony stopped writing then, and dropped his pencil, hearing the soft _clink,_ as it fell onto his desk. He could still feel the lingering slap and burn on his cheek. He picked up his pencil again, and pushed the sick feeling away.

6\. Darry hits me and I run out. Johnny joins me to walk to park where Soc's jump us. Johnny stabs Bob and we run to Dally.

7\. We hop the train to windrixville and we go into church. We stay there for five days until Dally visits us

Ponyboy gulped, trying to steady his hand as he tried to write what happened next is difficulty, but he does it anyways.

8\. We go out to lunch and when we come back there's a fire. Johnny and I run inside to save the kids

9\. Johnny dies in the hospital after the rumble and Dally commits suicide.

Ponyboy gently dropped the pencil down on his desk and looked at his list. Suddenly, as he rereads the last two numbers, numbers eight and nine, he started to feel sick.

 _Maybe I'll go to Windrixville myself,_ Pony thought. _I'll take a lighter and-_

" _Hey."_

Pony, always so paranoid about everything lately, of course thinking that his brother has entered the room, slammed his notebook shut. He silenced himself and kept his eyes trained forward. His hand is clenching his pencil so hard, Pony thought that if he kept holding it like that, for a moment, it might've snapped.

" _Kiddo, you need to control yourself. I can send you back in time, but I can't zap those feelings out of you."_

Pony let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Next time, maybe you can give me a little warning okay?" He rubbed his cold hands over his arms. "What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving for the day."

" _Yeah, I got bored and I decided to stop by."_ Logan shuffles to where Ponyboy is seated. " _And I also thought that your ideas, or where your ideas were headed are stupid."_

Ponyboy raised an eyebrow. "About destroying the church myself?"

" _Yeah that. You know, it's not a good plan. You might get killed in the process."_ He winks at Pony. " _Hint, hint. Foreshadowing._ "

Pony grabbed his notebook from his desk, and slipped it in between some of his books. He stood up, his frame rigid and tense.

"I'm going downstairs for some water," he mumbled so low, he was pretty sure Logn wouldn't hear, but he did.

" _I'll accompany you."_

 **….**

When they get downstairs, nobody is in the house and Ponyboy is relieved. He has the house all to himself for three hours. He gave Logan a quick glance before he headed into the kitchen.

"You know Logan, I've tried all my options. Plan A, try to explain everything to the gang. But they wouldn't' believe me, so I didn't even try. Plan B, ask Johnny to stay here fot the night, but he had to go home . . . . "

" _Have you tried plan D, for dumbass?"_ Logan huffed, then chuckled. " _It's a reference, I think . . . Ever heard of Supernatural?"_

Pony was staring at him. "What? I didn't even make a plan C, where did you get plan D from?"

" _You know, it's a tv show. The ghosts and stuff? Vamipres?"_ he stopped talking and looked around, as if he'd forgotten where he was. His eyes finally settling on Pony, looking him up and down. " _What year is this? 1960's? Oh, well anyways, it's a tv series. It doesn't come out until 2005."_

Ponyboy was so confused. What was happening? "Okayyyy," he said and looked around. "But what else am I supposed to do?"

" _Well obviously not that. You can change the past but some bad things can still happen."_

"It's a good plan," Pony insisted. "I'll destroy the place where it all happened."

Logan was shifting on both of his feet. " _What about Darry? What'll you tell everyone huh?"_ He was shaking his head, thinking, and scrunching up his eyes. " _Kid, they're going to think the Soc's kidnapped ya, and then the rumble, which if you stay here won't happen,_ will _happen."_

Pony felt his heart drop, but then he blurted out, "But no one dies in the rumble," he countered. "Everyone just got banged up." He started to pace, opening drawers and pulling out spoons.

Logan sighed. " _Ponyboy, what on earth are you doing? Maybe I should wipe your memory clean. Boy,"_ he pointed at his head, " _you got some problems."_

"I can distract them," Ponyboy said as he pulled out the forks. "Make them think I'm okay, which I am, then they'll let me go out on my own."

" _Kiddo, you're going to have to keep your voice down. If anyone in the gang comes home and finds you talking by yourself, they're going to put you under more supervision."_

Pony's anger, which had only stared with a mere word, flared. "Can you be quiet for one second?" He hissed. "I just need some time to think. I don't know what I'm going to do!"

Logn pressed his lips together. " _Well, don't' say I didn't warn you . . . "_ Logan's eyes looked past him, and then he disappeared all together.

Ponyboy just sighed, letting his anger run it's course. "Thank goodness," he said and then he turned around.

"What the hell was _that_?" An icy tone laced with concern hissed out. "What on earth were you doing?"

Ponyboy started to stutter. "I was just talking with myself, I-"

"Kid, stop it right now. You weren't talking by yourself. You were talking with someone. Who was it hm? Didn't' we tell you that we didn't want anyone in the house?"

"I called them." Pony said. "They didn't want to do a project and I got angry."

The other person raised their eyebrows. "Oh yeah?" He looked around. "Where's the phone."

Ponyboy flushed and rubbed his neck. "I was ranting to myself, Steve. This day is getting worse and worse . . . and now that everyone was gone I guess that I just needed to vent off."

Steve stared at him, eyeing him up. "I thought you were going crazy." He scoffed and looked down at the table. "You were setting the table?"

Pony moved across the room robotically. "Yeah," he said, his voice tight with anxiety. "I was . . . "

 **X X X X**

Pony made up his mind that evening. He knew what he would be doing. So even as he lay in bed, three more hours until two am, with Darry and Soda sleeping in the house, not worrying, because he hadn't gone with Johnny. And then, Ponyboy wondered about Johnny, wondered if he was cold, shivering in those newspapers.

He left around twelve, asking Logan if he would accompany him. Logan accepted reluctantly, but accepted none otherwise.

And so, Pony headed to the park. He hid up a tree, and waited for the Soc's.

Two hours . . . . one hour . . . . thirty minutes . . . . ten . . .

When he spotted them, he knew what he was going to do.

Perched up in another tree, Logan frowned, because he also knew what Ponyboy was going to do.

* * *

 **Yeah, that's right. I snuck in that Supernatural reference, well anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter . . . because it'll get really angsty real soon. I should change the rating . . .**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warnings:** Cursing. There's always cursing.

 **A/N:** Hi, I didn't update in awhile because I got stuck, you know, that brainfart deal. Didn't know what I could've done, soooo, I hope this chapter isn't so suckish? Reviews are appreciated. ;)

* * *

The car was there. It was right _there_ , in front of his eyes. It was slowly going around the park, stalking, waiting for someone. But Ponyboy knew better than to go and size them up. There were too many of them, and even though he knew what _was_ going to happen, and even though he had gained height and muscle, he was still outnumbered. And so, Ponyboy waited. He would wait until the car left. Even if he had to crouch down on a tree limb despite that his muscle ached. After all, he'd been in the tree for a while. And he'd wait even though he was dead tired from all the day's worth of activities, because hey, it wasn't like he'd been transported back into time and jumped by Socs on the same day.

He shook his head and focused on the car. He couldn't have his mind wandering. He needed to stay because he had to. _He had to._

" _Kid. Just go home now. Sleep before it's too late. Darry won't kill ya if you go back now. Don't go to Windrixville. It's a stupid idea anyways."_

"I have to wait until they leave." Pony repeated again, this having been the sixth time he'd said it. "Make sure they won't be coming back."

There was a small silence and Logan sighed. " _Kid, you can't stop everything. Go home. Rest. You need it. Because tomorrow's going to be another day."_

"No." Pony was blinking fast now. "I have to wait until they leave."

" _Ponyboy. Go. Home. Now."_ Logan's voice was hard and cold, and it reminded Pony of Dally's. But he brushed the voice off. He wasn't scared of Dally, or Darry, or the Socs. He wasn't scared of anyone. And the the car was starting to leave, slowly turning away. So close . . .

"Just a little bit longer," he said, ignoring the way Logan stared at him.

Logan shot him a cold glare. " _Kid, you do know, that if I want to, with one snap, I can send you packing._ "

Pony did his best not to fall as he heard those words. "What?" he choked out. "What?"

" _That's right kiddo._ " Logan said nodding. " _One snap of my fingers, one blink of my eyes, one word out of my mouth, and I can send you back._ "

But before Ponyboy could start panicking and say that if Logan had that amount power, he shouldn't really exist, the sound of an engine rang through the area, and then it was gone.

Pony gulped. "See? I told you I only needed a few seconds." He couldn't help but feel faint. "I only wanted a few more seconds."

Logan nodded. " _I know_ ," he replied as he saw Pony's shaky figure. "J _ust . . . stay there and relax okay? I wasn't serious. I wouldn't do that to you._ "

"Okay," Ponyboy echoed. And then he slumped against a tree limb.

Logan laughed suddenly, but it was strained. Almost like he wanted to lighten up the mood. Ponyboy noticed of course. " _Man, you're one tuff guy. I don't think even Dally would've been able to scare me into not doing what I said._ "

Ponyboy glanced at Logan. "I scared you?"

" _Kid you were basically yelling at me all the way here. You might've woken up the whole neighborhood. Of course you scared me."_

"I wasn't yelling, I was arguing with you. And no one heard me."

Logan narrowed his eyes. " _Listen up, and listen good kiddo."_ Logan's voice was like venom, sharp and bashing. " _I'm older than you can ever imagine. So listen to me when I say that you're screwing up big time. Go. Home."_

"I'm going to climb higher," Pony said, completely ignoring Logan's comment. "I can't see from here."

" _Ponyboy! What are you doing!"_

Ponyboy almost slipped at the sudden shrill. He looked down at Logan in surprise, because Logan wasn't one to usually raise his voice, even if he was angry. He replayed the voice in his head, and he noted something was strange.

But he immediately knew something else was wrong when he saw that Logan's mouth was open. His face contorted in surprise. And the way he was looking up and down and turning side to side, and then Pony realized that it hadn't been him who'd talked. His surprise was evident. His eyebrows forming a confused look, and his eyes shining, because other than Ponyboy, who else would be awake, alone in the park, at the ungodly hours of the night? (Well except the Socs, but you get what I mean) And Pony wasn't one to curse, but man, what was happening?

"Ponyboy!? Is that you?" The whisper was stronger now, more desperate. A completely different voice, now that he paying more attention to it. "Pony?"

Ponyboy looked down, and oh god, it was . . .

"Pony, it's me. Johnny." The darkness moved a bit. "What are you doing up there?"

 _Shit._

Logan was sitting on a nearby limb, his eyes wide and nervous. He pointed to something to Pony's left, his face serious. Then he simply vanished.

Well fuck. Pony was screwed now.

And suddenly, as if all twists of fate, everything crumbled right before him. He could faintly hear the rumbling of a car, the familiar rumble of the engine. At first he brushed it off, because he had just hear it but- he turned, horror and fear seeping through his bones, making his legs feel like jello and-

 _It was coming back._

And Jonny was here. In front of him. He'd forgotten about Johnny, and how he'd slept at the lot and Logan had said his voice was loud but he'd ignored it and maybe he'd brought Johnny here . . . or maybe Johnny had been lying to him. Anyways, something in the timeline had changed or maybe it was just restarting itself.

Ponyboy felt his heart speed up and without any hesitation he jumped right out of the tree, stumbled as some pain shot up through his legs, and he stumbled over to Johnny.

"Ponyboy, what's happening?" Johnny asked hesitantly as he stepped back a little, taking in Pony's figure. "Where are you going? What are you doing? Darry's going to kill you."

Ponyboy could hear the engine louder now, and Johnny turned. He heard it too and his eyes widened and Ponyboy could almost see the outline of blade in Johnny's pocket.

"Oh no, the Socs," he said. "What are they doing on our-"

No, Ponyboy couldn't let Johnny finish that sentence. Or the thought either, because if he did then it would happen all over again. So, he immediately snapped out of the still-like trance and grabbed Johnny by his jacket rouhly, This caused shock to run over Johnny's face, but it beat the puppy eyes Pony always feared. He looked away before they could lock eyes, because he could still see Johnny's eyes as he took one final breath.

"Follow me, right now," he said, looking at the ground.

Johnny opened his mouth, probably to protest, but before he could say anything, Ponyboy grabbed him roughly by the wrist. Johnny let out a yelp.

"The the hell Pony? Let me go," Johnny said harshly.

But Ponyboy could only hear the rumbling of the car as it was right in his ears, despite the fact that the car was a good thirty feet away. "I can't Johnny," he said. "I'll explain this to you later."

"Alright, just let me go," Johnny whined and Ponyboy tugged him a little bit more so that he could catch up.

And so, he let him go, but he kept pushing Johnny so that the Soc's headlight wouldn't be able to catch a glimpse of them. They were far enough and concealed by the shadows that they wouldn't be able to find them. But the engine seemed to taunt Ponyboy. It seemed so close, and then he wondered where Logan had run off to. Sometimes Logan would leave at the worst times and appear at . . . the worst times too. Oh, the irony of everything.

"Ponyboy," Johnny said quietly, but his voice was hard. "What on earth was that all about? Don't you know that Darry's gonna skin ya if he sees you out here? You've been worrying everyone since the beating you took from the Soc's and he's just about to take you to the hospital." He paused. "Are you okay? They didn't rough you up too much did they?"

"I just wanted some fresh air," Pony said, complete dodging Johnny's questions and comments. "I need some air, and I was nervous.."

Johnny's features softened as if suddenly remembering their earlier discussion. "I'm so sorry Pony. I really needed to go, and I left you hanging. And now . . . but you were acting so weird and we don't have no project due . . . "

Ponyboy waved him off, ignoring everything again. "Don't worry about it Johnny," he said, and it was painful to looked at him because Johnny had those puppy eyes. "I'm feeling better now, I was just a little spooked." The engine of the car seemed to have died down, and Ponyboy could relax for a while.

"My parents . . . I promised them I'd gone home-"

A change in the timeline it was.

"- and if I didn't, I'd be in for it. I'm really sorry."

Pony was glad Johnny couldn't see how his eyes darted all over the place and as they even looked past him. "It's not a problem. Don't beat yourself up over it." His hands were tingling and Ponyboy really wanted some gum.

"What were the Socs doing in this part of town though," Johnny asked suddenly. "Did ya get into a mess while I wasn't at school?"

"No," Pony said. He honestly couldn't remember anything past the date where it had all gone down. "I didn't."

Logan appeared then. " _Kid go home."_

Pony made a face and prayed that Johnny didn't see it.

Logan sighed. "G _o home before something bad happens_ "

And that comment sparked a chain reaction. He's just jinxed it and Pony could feel the air rush out if his lungs as the sputtering down of an engine started again somewhere behind him, and the slamming of car doors, Johnny's frightened look that hurt Ponyboy right to the bone, and the silence.

"Johnny go get Darry right now," Ponyboy whispered. He wasn't going to change his plans. He just hoped he could create a diversion with Johnny (unknowingly) and Logan's help. "Tell them that we need help."

There were hoots of laughter that made Pony's blood freeze.

"What about you?" Johnny whispered hurriedly. "What's gonna happen to you?"

"I hurt my leg," Pony half-lied, "while jumping off the tree. I can't run all that well, and if they catch up to us, I won't be able to run. So run for me."

Johnny looked confused and he peered out into the shadows, but saw nothing.

Logan was staring. " _Go home."_

"I'll be back-"

"I won't be here," Ponyboy but in. "I need to go somewhere. His eyes shifted to Logan, who was mouthing 'no' to him. "Tell Darry and Soda not to worry."

" _You're making a bad mistake._ "

"Not to worry about what?"

Ponyboy began to look around. "Better yet, don't come back."

"Why on earth are you talking about?"

"Tell them not to worry okay?" He gave Johnny a soft shoved. "I'll be back soon. And tell Dally that the Socs didn't get me."

"I should stay with you," Johnny countered. "We can ride this out together."

"Go. Tell. My. Brothers. Not. To. Worry," Pony said in a hard tone.

Johnny widened his eyes, not in fear, but in disbelief. "Okay," he said and he ran off into the night.

Logan walked up to him. " _Kid, you got yourself a good silver tongue. I might even say better than Dally's but . . . anyways, go home and the Soc's won't do anything."_

"I know they won't," Ponyboy said confidently.

And so, he stepped out of the shadows and was confronted by three socs. Not five . . . had there been five before? Bob was there and he was swaying, but not enough for Pony to categorize him as a complete drunk. Randy was nowhere in sight.

"Hey greaser," Bob said lazily, but his voice wasn't threatening. "Whaddaya doing out here in the middle of the night?"

The other two were merely giving him a glance and went on pushing each other. Those two were certainly on the borderline.

"I could ask the same to you," Ponyboy said and Logan slapped his own face.

Bob only chuckled. "You got a mouth on ya kid." He sighed. "Me and the boys were just hanging-" he took another sip of his beer- "we don't want no trouble."

Cherry had been right, Pony thought. Bob _was_ a good guy.

"Me neither," Pony said, "but if my gang sees you hanging around in our turf, they just might kill ya for fun." He winced at his own words, but kept going. "Just a warning."

Bob took another sip. "Thanks kid," he said turning to his friend. "Let's get outta here, before Winston shows up. I got some more drinks at home."

His boys whooped and they stalked off.

It was all unrealistic and it seemed all too easy.

Too easy.

Ponyboy collapsed to the ground. "That was just so easy," he said outloud.

Logan sat down next to him. " _Yep, but if you'd been any cockier, I'm pretty sure Bob would have snapped._ " He shrugged. " _Bob's a good kid. Would have more potential if he stopped his drinking."_

"I just don't get it," he said finally after some silence. "Is that it?"

Logan sprawled himself on the grass. "I _f you want it to be it, then so be it_."

Ponyboy couldn't believe it. "What's going to happen now?"

" _Well, you basically stopped the fire and you go home-"_

Of course, Pony thought suddenly, Logan's words brushing past him. He still needed to get rid of the church. He blinked and turned to Logan.

"Hey," he said. "Can you make anything appear?"

" _Basically."_

"Can you get me a lighter and a pack of smokes?"

Logan squinted. " _What for? I thought you didn't smoke anymore."_

"It's the nerves," he replied, knowing his excuse was lame. The craving had died a long time ago, just like Johnny and Dally had. "I'm shaking all over." He even showed Logan his hands to prove it to him.

Once Logan made those things appear out of thin air, and Ponyboy had stopped staring in amazement, he took the lighter and smoke gingerly. He stood up and said, "I'm going to Windrixville."

" _No you ain't,"_ Logan shot back. " _Give me back the lighter right now, I'd been hoping you'd forgotten all about your stupid idea. Two stupid ideas, first with the Socs because that couldn't been avoided. The whole confrontation, with Johnny and Bob could've been avoided. And now the church? Kid, you sure took a beating from them Socs and I can heal you any everything but just think about it-"_

"No," Ponyboy said and Logan shot him of his dark looks. But Pony wasn't afraid of anything. Not Dally, Not Darry, Not Logan. And honestly? He was getting a little scared of himself at this point . . . He got up and started walking in the direction, the same route he'd taken when he and Johnny ran away.

"I need to get rid of that church. To make sure nothing happens."

Logan threw his hands up in the air. " _Nothing is going to happen kid!_ "

"I don't care."

 **o-O-o-O-o-O-o**

And then, about fifteen minutes later of walking and having to listen to Logan's rants in other languages and about shows he didn't know about, Ponyboy found himself staring at the dark trees and landscape as they rolled by.

" _You're making a mistake,"_ Logan said where he sat.

"No. I'm going to fix my mistake. This all happened because of me."

" _You're brothers are freaking out right now. Darry's thinking of getting you some help. He thinks the Socs got you good in the head, and Steve thinks you're crazy. He hasn't told Darry yet, but I think he will. "_

"It doesn't matter," Pony said softly. "As long as they're safe and the church is gone."

And Logan sighed, a deep sigh, because everything was just beginning.

* * *

 **I just realized that in my last chapter, I used present tense and past tense. Ugggh, I hate when it happens. Because sometimes I want to talk in the now, but then it slips back into past, or vice versa I'm too lazy to fix it tho.**

 **Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: BLAH! I'm not dead! Get ready to board the angst train peeps. Haha, train, you know, to WIndrixville? . . . Also, apologizes for taking so long to update. I got lazy, highschool sucks -especially Bio class, and I got sucked in reading too many Avengers Fanfics. Also, I think my writing style has changed a bit sooooooooo I was trying to adjust to that.**

* * *

Darry had been dozing off, thinking about work and Ponyboy and about the bills, when Johnny burst through the door. He'd come with wide eyes and short gasping breaths and Darry snapped out of his tired state in a second.

"Johnny, are you okay?" he asked. Quick on his feet, Darry was ready to retrieve a first aid kit and anything else that was at hand. But he stopped when Johnny didn't say anything.

Sucking in a deep breath himself, Darry allowed himself to relax a bit. His eyes scanned Johnny, looking him up and down. After assessing that there was no visible bruises, all except for his mud stained shoes, Darry let out a sigh of relief. But that didn't mean he was sporting some underneath his clothes.

Johnny was still wheezing. He coughed roughly and tried to suck in a breath, waving a hand in the process.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Darry repeated, his fingers itching to do something.

Johnny nodded. He managed out a soft, "Been running."

Darry nodded and relaxed.

But not too much, because who would Johnny be running (away? from someone?) at half past midnight? Waiting as patiently as he could, Darry couldn't help but let his foot tap. He allowed his fingers to drum themselves in his arm, until Johnny was able to suck in more calmer breaths.

He closed his eyes and let out a small whisper, saying, "It's Ponyboy."

Darry stared at him, confused and worried. He was still tapping his foot when he asked, "What about Pony?"

Johnny looked conflicted now. He was fumbling with his hands, who Darry guessed were shaky from the running. "He's-" another cough. "He's in trouble."

Darry remained silent, his face contorted into a pensive appearance. In, truth, he didn't know what to say, or what to think. "Yeah, I've noticed that," he finally said, trying to sound . . . like he knew _something_.

Johnny narrowed his eyes in confusion. "No, Darry. You don't understand-"

Darry shook his head and held his hands out. "No, no, Johnny. I understand. He's been trying to hide it, but everyone knows how jumpy he is now-"

"He went to the park to get some air," Johnny said suddenly, throwing up his hands. He sucked in another breath; it was unsteady and nervous. "He just went to the park and . . . and the Soc's came. He told me to get you. I told him I didn't want to go, and that we could make a run for it together, or stay together but he didn't listen."

Still baffled, Darry let his eyes travel down the hall. "Pony's sleeping," he said.

Johnny looked pained. "No, he isn't."

There was a deafening silence that filled the house. It lasted seconds, but of course to Johnny, it lasted more than two. He swallowed. "Were wasting time. Pony needs our help."

Darry nodded, crossed his arms over his chest and turned abruptly. He practically sprinted to Pony's room. Johnny followed close behind, his footsteps quick and quiet.

The knock itself was swift, and hard."Ponyboy!" Darry called out impatiently. He gave him no time to answer before calling his name again. "Pony!"

Darry turned and saw that Johnny held a pleading look. He counted to three when he sucked in a breath and said in a higher voice, "Ponyboy!"

When there was no response, Johnny started to get fidgety again behind him. Darry could feel the vibrations of Johnny's movement through the floorboard. And it made him nervous, too. Millions of reasonable thoughts started to fly through his head. He blinked quickly, and tried to sort them out. The most important question came first.

Why would Ponyboy go by himself near Soc territory? Not to mention, in the middle of night, when he hadn't gotten Darry's permission to _set one foot off the property_. Darry ran a hand roughly through his hair, remembering seeing Ponyboy's bruises. He'd been acting strange ever since then. He was in no condition to go by himself to the park when he couldn't as much think for himself.

"Ponyboy! Open the door!" Darry called out.

Johnny started to breath quickly, despite the fact that he was not doing any exercise. "Pony is at the park, Darry." It was notivable he was getting impatient, _desperate_. "We have to go, _now._ "

Soda came out of his room then. As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he asked, "What's happening Darry?" His eyes were small slits. "What's going on?"

Darry knocked again, harder this time. "Ponyboy!"

Soda was standing awkwardly in the hall. His eyes kept moving back and forth from Darry and Johnny. "Hiya Johnny," he said finally, his voice held no laziness or signs that he'd ever been asleep. He was wide awake now. "What happened?"

"Didn't you listen to me Darry?" Johnny insisted, his fists curled up tightly. "He's. At. The. _Park_."

Darry felt his heart beat feverishly in his chest. He turned to fully face Johnny, and in a serious voice, he asked, "He's in the park now?"

Johnny nodded and started to head downstairs. "He needs help now, right _now_. I didn't get to see how many of there were."

Soda was looking at them frantically now. "What happened?" he asked again.

"Why did you leave?" Darry asked as he went down the stairs. There was a hint, a tone that sounded like an accusation. "You should've stayed with him, he's just a kid, and with you there might've been a better chance-"

"Darry," Sodapop said harshly, behind to where both he and Johnny were. "Where's Ponyboy?"

Johnny was looking guilty, but he answered anyways. "We were at the park, Soda," he said opening the door. "The Soc's came and he told me to run. I didn't want to, but he didn't leave any rooms for arguments."

Soda's face crumpled. "What?" Then he turned to Darry quickly. "Why are you even blaming him?" Soda asked, his voice quickly and snappy. "If it was me and Pony in that situation, I would've sent Pony to come get you too! I would've stayed behind, you know that. And you know Ponyboy. He aint like the rest of us."

Darry's mouth dried up. The sudden burst of anger and frustration he'd felt at Johnny suddenly disappeared. He opened his mouth, and closed it. And then he opened it again. "Johnny, I'm so … so sorry- I, I didn't mean it."

Johnny shrugged and took one step outside "It doesn't matter," he said loudly. "We have to go right now. We have to go _now_."

Soda gave Darry a knowing look, and he ran back upstairs.

 **…..**

They were halfway there, passing the speed limit by over 15 miles, when Johnny finally broke the unnerving silence that drowned the car.

"Where did Sodapop go?" he asked, his leg jumping (twitching in Darry's eyes).

"Soda will get the rest," Darry told Johnny as he turned on the car. "I know he will."

Johnny said nothing, keeping his eyes straight ahead, he tried not to think what the Socs would do to Ponyboy. He only prayed that they wouldn't hurt him too badly.

 **o-O-o-O-o-O-o**

After shakily accepting a large cup of water, sitting down, only to get up again Soda began finally to speak.

It took a sentence or less to summarize what had happened to Pony.

"Oh, damn." Steve whistled and looked at Two-Bit once Soda had explained in angry huffs of breath of what he knew happened. "Then where's the kid?" he asked.

"I didn't know at first. Why would he even leave? Without Darry's permission? Anyways, I woke up because Darry was knocking on Ponyboy's door-"

"Wait, does that mean he wasn't sleeping with you?" Two-Bit asked, and then he smirked to himself. He sobered up quickly when he saw the deadly look Steve gave him. "Okay, I'm sorry. Then what happened? Did he like give you an explanation of why you didn't share a bed?"

Soda became more stricken and Steve knocked Two-Bit on the back of his head. "He refused to sleep with me," he answered, "and I don't know why..."

"Maybe it's because he isn't having nightmares?" Steve tried, as he kept shooting looks to Two-Bit to keep his trap shut. "He is a growing kid. Maybe he wants some privacy?"

"Pony still has them. You know, the nightmares. The most recent one was last week." Soda looked at him in the eyes. "They dulled down, though, throughout this week, but I have no idea what happened to him in the span of one day. And Pony would tell me if he wanted some privacy."

"The socs messed him up," Steve said, finally.

"They knocked him in the back of the head where the smart part is. He is not the Ponyboy we know, only just a husk of a man," Two-Bit prophesied. He started to get up and move towards the door as if to signal something. "One look at his eyes and you-"

Steve slapped followed close behind, only to slap Two-Bit again, harder this time.

Soda bit his lip and got up, heading towards the door too. "Shut up Two-Bit. I don't know, but after the Socs beat him up, he hasn't been himself. Johnny said there was Socs at the park. We gotta go get Dally now."

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow. "Socs? Did he say how many?" He shook his head. "That Ponyboy, always getting himself into trouble. Maybe the Socs _did_ mess him up."

"I think Dally is at Buck's," Steve answered, trying to make Soda's focus on him. He followed Soda out the door. "Wanna go get him?"

"Of course we're going to go get him," Two-Bit said. He shuffled outside.

They quickly hopped into a car that was laying around, the neighborhood's car.

It took less than three minutes. For Soda, too long. "Are you guys sure he's here?"

"Çourse he is," said Two-Bit. "He always stays here for a couple of days when he gets out of the cooler."

Everyone took a deep breath in and welcomed the blaring music. Flickering and flashing lights blinded them, for not long ago had they all been sleeping.

Dally was all the way in the back. He was talking to Sylvia, in what looked like a heated discussion that might break out in a fight if he was in the mood.

"Dally!" Soda yelled over the music, as he got closer. "Dally."

Dally was in the middle of a sneer but looked up to where they were calling him. He pushed Sylvia back a few steps, gave her the bird and sauntered over to them.

"Hello, boys," he said, running a hand over his hair. He squirted in Sodapop's direction. "Heya Soda. Does Darry know your here?"

"Yes he does," Soda said, waving at him to follow. "We need to talk to you."

Dally nodded at him, and did the same to greet Two-Bit and Steve. "So, what's got you so . . . " he waved at him. "Unsettled."

Two-Bit cracked a smile. "Man, you're gonna love this." Steve shot him a look. "Well, not _love_ it, but it's pretty interesting."

Dally leaned his head on the wall and yawned. "Fire, Soda."

"We don't have enough time, and I'm not really sure what happened or what the full story is but-" he took a deep breath. "Johnny came to our house when I was sleeping," Soda continued and shoved his hands in his pockets. "He looked worried. And nervous."

That got Dally's attention. He sat sat closer to him and raised an eyebrow. "Is Johnny alright?" he asked. He looked up at Steve and Two-Bit who looked unsure.

"Johnny was as fine as I could tell. No visible marks . . . " Sighing, he leaned against a counter. His heartbeat was starting to pick up. "But it's Ponyboy."

Dally sighed and drank some beer that was lying around.

"He had a run in with the Socs-"

And suddenly he was up. Swearing in the process, he stumbled a bit from the alcohol that was still in his system. His voice though, was strong and confident. "That damn kid. Shoot, where is he now? Why'd he even leave the house?"

Two-Bit nodded. "That's what I said!"

"He's still in the park," Soda replied. "Darry and Johnny should be there. We just thought it'd be better if you were also there if things got bad with the Socs."

Dally cracked a smile. "So kind of you to think of me."

 **o-O-o-O-o-O-o**

Darry wasn't usually someone who'd usually panic. He always thought up of things he could do, but now was one of those rare instances where nothing could be done.

"He was right here," Johnny said, his hands shaking. He shoved them into his pockets. "Their car was over _there_ , if he was at least beaten up like I was, they would've left them but he isn't here, remember when they left me in the lot, do you think they took him that's impossible though, they would have done that-"

"Johnny calm down," Darry interjected. "Calm down, buddy. Calm down, okay? He probably ran off somewhere to distract them."

Johnny started to breath harder. "I dunno, Darry. I just don't know. "

Darry couldn't help but feel a large mass accumulate at the base of his heart. Seeing Johnny distressed dampened any high hopes he had of trying to find what happened to Pony.

"Hey!" someone called, suddenly. "That you Darry? Johnny?"

In one quick movement, Darry turned. The voice was familiar, but with all the thoughts that flew around in his head, not to count that his stomach churned with such intensity, he wasn't able to actually pinpoint the voice.

His eyesight adjusted to the darkness after a small bit. His eyes landed on a couple of shadows that lingered near the trees. But as they got closer, the lights from the street lamps illuminated the group that was heading towards their direction.

Soda was the first to come barreling towards him. Steve followed close behind, jogging slowly. Two-Bit and Dally were the last ones. They appeared to be talking, gestures and facial expression were included.

"Where is he?" Soda asked, his eyes wandering and looking. "Where is Ponyboy, Darry?"

Steve gave Darry a look that he knew all too well.

"Didya find him?" Soda asked. He crossed his arms and looked at Johnny. "Johnny?"

Johnny shook his head. "I'm so sorry Sodapop, I should've stayed with him."

Soda relaxed a bit, his eyes softened from the once serious look. "It's not your fault, Johnnycake. It's not anyone's fault but those damn Socs." he cursed under his breath and slumped. "He's not here, right?"

"He's not here at the park," Darry answered, his voice reassuring. "He could be around. He probably ran off."

"Yeah, that's right," Two-Bit interjected, nodding. "He's got long legs."

 **….**

Steve leaned against a tree and eyed Darry and Soda. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the wrinkles of the nose, eyebrow shifts, or hand gestures probably meant something was going down in the works. Not to mention Darry kept shushing Soda when his voice got too high.

"So the kid got jumped, started strange, apparently gets jumped again and now he's gone?" Dally asked. "Johnny, whaddya think?"

"He didn't get jumped, _we_ didn't get jumped. They were just coming towards us."

Dally nodded. "Huh," he said.

Steve shrugged. "That kid's been acting weird during and after he got jumped. Hugged all of ya like he hadn't seen you in hundreds of years." He paused. "He even hugged me!"

Dally nodded. "Yeah, he was acting weird the day he got jumped. And who the fuck grows two inches taller in one day and gets muscles?"

"Maybe Ponyboy was hiding them," Johnny tried. "Cause he didn't want you guy making fun of him for trying to get muscle. Or something." He turned to face then. "Just like you do now, you're making comment about him."

Two-Bit chuckled. "He might been packing some muscles to show off to some girl."

Dally pat him on the back. "Nah, Johnny. Just no."

"And you know what's fuckin' weird?" Steve began once Johnny silently deflated. "I heard him talking to someone the other day. I came in 'because I thought one of us was with him, and I was gonna bother him and all that. It almost sounded like he was arguing with someone too. But when I came in, there was no one and he looked jumpy."

Dally narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Drugs?" he offered. Then he straightened his back and snapped his fingers. "Steroids. It gotta be it."

"I just don't know." Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just . . . dunno, but it would make sense. He grew, and the muscles too."

Johnny frowned. "He wouldn't take steroids. Or any type of drug."

"We know that kid, but what happened if someone slipped him something, and he didn't know it? He looked high, to be honest. Wide eyed, red eyes too, staring at you and me and everyone like we'd died." Dally said.

"I saw him," Johnny whispered. "I saw him last."

Dally looked down. "´Course we know Johnny, you were with him last-"

"No." Johnny said. "What I mean is that- . . . I didn't tell you something . . . something I saw in the park, right before the Socs came."

Steve and Dally shot each other looks. Two-Bit clapped Johnny on the back.

"Well, what did ya hear?"

"He was talking to someone. I heard him just before I called out to him." Johnny paused. "The Socs were there and-"

"And you just go and tell us this now?" Dally sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was quiet for a second before he started up again.

"The kid could have taken something, maybe. Maybe the effects were still going on. Maybe that's why he went out in the first place. The guilt, the anxiety in your stomach, the emptiness-"

"He would never take drugs," Johnny said, his own voice was rough. "And besides, if he had, I would've smelt something on him, but I didn't smell anything."

"Yeah, Dally," Two-Bit said. "Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Steve shrugged. "Unless he went somewhere like Buck's -which we're pretty sure he didn't go anywhere because he was with us the whole time- then there's no reason to believe he got spiked consuming something. Maybe he just got knocked on the head too hard."

Dally didn't seem convinced, but he stayed quiet and picked at his nails.

The silence that passed through the group was uncomfortable and heavy. Johnny shoved his hands in his pockets and Two-Bit shot him an reassuring look. Suddenly the hushed talking and whispers from Darry and Sodapop also quieted down. Taking the attention off of their conversation, everyone turned to them.

"Is anyone else interesting in beating up some socs?" Sodapop asked as he looked up Darry. He was slouching as he walked up to the group.

Dally smiled. "Of fucking course," he answered and cracked his knuckles. "I haven't beaten up some ass ugly looking sonuvagun socs in a long time."

"I have nothing better to do," Steve added. "So I might as well."

"Were gonna look around. Maybe he ran away and went home," Darry said, nodding to himself. "I'll wait at home, just in case he wanders by. Soda, Dally, Steve, Johnny, Two-Bit-" Darry crossed his arms and let out a long shaky sigh. "Please make sure that you find him."

Soda grabbed Steve's arm and started to loosley tug. "Come on, guys," he said. "We gotta get going before anything else happens."

Dally cracked his neck. "Johnny, you, me an' Two-Bit should group up."

And off they all went.

Two-Bit was in the middle of tripping himself as all of them were stopping by the Dingo, when it appeared. Johnny was looking at the ground. Dally was showing off his blade and Two-Bit was hopping.

In one of those moments when Dally was about to sock Two-Bit in the stomach so he could stop being so annoying, his attention was grabbed.

"Hey, look," Dally said, picking up his speed. "You said the car was red? Corvair?"

Johnny looked to where Dally had his attention focused at. "Thats it, Dal. That's the one."

Johnny recognized the guy who Pony had talked to. He had black hair and was handsome.

"That him, Johnny?" Two-Bit asked. "That him?"

"Yeah, that's him," Johnny whispered.

Dally walked right up to them. The black haired handsome guy and another one leaned on the hood of the car. Dally waited until one of them remained. "Hello, boys," Dally said and flicked out a cigarette.

They barely paid any attention to him. The handsome one nodded. "Hey."

The other guy cracked his knuckles.

Dally took a long drag and admired his blade. "You wouldn't have, oh, you know, happened to come across two boys. Dark skinned one and another kid with green eyes?"

The handsome one squinted, and looked around. "Isn't that the guy you talkin bout?" he asked pointing to Johnny.

"Yeah, that's him. You seen his friend?"

Sobering up, the handsome one stood up tall. "My name is Bob," he said suddenly like Dally cared. "Me and a couple of friends saw both of the kids at the park. Tanned one ran, but I didn't do nothing to the other kid. He was just there and he was cool about it."

Now that had been settled Two-Bit took a step up. "What were you even doing' in our territory, huh?" he coldy said. "How do we know your not lying, and how do we know that you dumbasses have him somewhere."

Bob's friend gave him a look, but Bob waved him off. "How do we know your not lying? You're always up to no good Winston, you too, redhead. This could be another of your no good lies to make us look bad."

Johnny stepped up. "I just wanna know what happened to him."

"Kid, we were drunk, giddy, and whatnot. He was cool as nails despite being outnumbered. We chatted a little -he didn't want a fight, and we didn't have one."

Bobs friend nodded. "Yep. We left, and we don't know anything about him."

Dally´s eye twitched. "Oh. Alright." He took another long drag and stomped the butt underneath his foot.

Dally suddenly calm demeanor mean bad news. Johnny knew that. "Dally," he warned. "I think they're telling the truth. Come on, let's go." Johnny shot a worried to Two-Bit, but he didn't make a move to stop him.

Cracking his knuckles and tucking his blade away, Dally said, "Well boys, goodnight. Thank you for your . . . cooperation."

Bob raised an eyebrow as Dally seemingly turned to walk away. Johnny sighed with relief as the coil in his stomach loosened. But he immediately broke into a cold sweat when Dally reared back and punched Bob square in the jaw and knocked him onto the ground.

* * *

 **Next up . . . The fire? I dunno. I make it up as I go. Reviews are appreciated.**

 **P.S. my dad thinks I spend way too much on my computer writing and reading so he's put a new law/decree that I cant use it as much. :(**


	9. AN

Hello, guys. I'm here to bring unfortunate news; I'm discontinuing this story. BUT HEY DON'T GET DOWN I BRING GOOD NEWS TOO.

Anyways, I began this story during the summer (I think) when I was transitioning from 8th grade to high school, and I have to say that with my english class, and my other writing classes I've taken, along with butt-loads of simply incredible stories I've read over the few months, Im proud to say that I think I've changed my writing style a _lot_. It's all for the better, of course.

And again, of course, I'll leave this story up, but I **rewriting it with another title,** which thus will be called **_Motion of Space._**

It's basically the same thing—Ponyboy going back in time to his surprise and tries to stop the fire from happening yadda yadda yadda—with a few touch ups and maybe whole chapter rewrites. It's just that the vocab and the transition and the language will be so much better. Trust me.

So, as I'm posting this Ill be in the process of beginning to write the first chapter of _Motion of Space._

It truly was a pleasure to receive such wonderful reviews and encouragements from readers, and I hope that you'll continue reading my work.

\- Used To Be Something 279


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